MADRID, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- Former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain will retire after the Valencia Open 500 in October, the organizers confirmed on Wednesday.
"The Valencia Open 500 will be my last tournament, on the best stage possible," organizers said in a statement, quoting Ferrero as saying at the launch of the Valencia event.
"This season, injuries have prevented me from playing continually and it has been a complicated year because I noticed on the court that I did not have the same ambition after 14 years at the top level," he said.
The 32-year-old Spaniard, nicknamed "The Mosquito", won the French Open and reached the final of the US Open in 2003, becoming the second Spanish player after Moya to take the top position in ATP ranking table.
"What I will miss the most is competing. That will be a hard gap to fill," said Ferrero.
The 2012 Valencia Open 500 tournament will be held from October 20 to 28 in Ferrero's home city.