French veteran Gilles Simon taking break from tennis tour

PARIS (AP) — Gilles Simon will step away from the tennis tour for an undetermined period of time because he said his heart wasn’t in it right now.

The 36-year-old Frenchman wrote on Twitter on Friday that mental health is also a concern.

“With my heart not being in it in terms of traveling and playing in these conditions, I unfortunately have to take a break in order to preserve myself mentally," Simon wrote. "Hopefully my morale picks up as soon as possible.”

Simon achieved a best ranking of sixth in 2009 but is currently ranked 68th. He won the last of his 14 career ATP titles in 2018.

He was routed 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 by Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round of the Australian Open this month.

Simon did not say whether he is considering retirement.

___

More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports