Eight months after Swedish ace Mikael Ymer signaled the end of his career while serving an 18-month suspension, he announces a shocking comeback to the sport.

For context, in January 2022, Ymer received a year’s ban for a triple violation of the daily whereabouts rules, which is part of ATP’s anti-doping regulation.

The Swedish violated the rule in April, August, and November 2021, forcing the governing body to suspend him. However, six months later, he was cleared by an independent tribunal, but his 2-year ban was partially upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS). Also, an 18-month suspension was added by the Sports Court.

In August last year, the Swedish star took to his X (formerly known as Twitter) account to break the news that he had “decided to retire from professional tennis.“

In the message, he acknowledged his fault in the first two violations but disputed the relevance of the third. The news was a big shock to the tennis community, as the Swede was only 24 with a career-high of No. 50 in the ATP ranking.

Meanwhile, the 25-year-old seems to have finally changed his mind as he informed fans on social media about his comeback in eight months.

Retirement was boring see you in eight months.

Mikael Ymer wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter)

This is great news for Ymer, who has been away from tennis for two and three months. But his comeback will be a long road for the Swedish star, as several suspended players in the past have found it difficult to get to their best when they fully return to the sport.

Tennis fans react to Mikael Ymer’s comeback announcement on social media

Mikael Ymer surely has several tennis fans and lovers from around the world. After taking to his X account to break the news, they reacted happily to the Swede’s shocking comeback announcement, as he rethinks his last-year retirement from the sport after CAS decided to uphold his two-year ban.

Mikael Ymer (Image via Imago)

Sharing a wide spectrum of reactions online, here are some other fan reactions.

Before quitting tennis, Ymer earned his biggest career win at the 2023 Wimbledon Championship after rallying from behind to beat Taylor Fritz, a World No. 9 at the time. He also helped Sweden reach the quarterfinals of the 2021 Davis Cup.