Barbadian tennis star Darian King has put retirement talks firmly on hold, declaring that he intends to remain a professional athlete for as long as his body allows.
Speaking exclusively to MIDWEEK, the 33-year-old confirmed he is already preparing for another campaign next season and has next year’s Davis Cup in his sights.
“Yes, I am going to still be playing tennis,” King said. “The time left (in my career) is trickling down, and the window of my career is getting smaller, but we still have the opportunity to try to make history.
I’m definitely still looking forward to those types of matches. I’m still going to be competing to the best of my ability, and the Davis Cup is one of the things we look forward to every year.”
King acknowledged that continuing at this level comes with challenges; sponsorship pressures, the physical demands of the sport and balancing family life. He expects most of his competitive outings to be on the Challenger circuit “Any tournament that I get in, I’ll do the best I can, which is maybe Challengers now,” he explained. “The goal as a youngster was to get to the top. Now, as I get older with kids and family, things have changed drastically. Mentally, I’m still in a good place, just trying to enjoy the sport and see if I can achieve a couple more milestones. Whenever the window closes, that’s it for me.”
Beyond his personal career, King says he wants to help create a clearer pathway to professionalism for young Barbadian players, a pathway he believes must start in the schools.
“For me, it’s about getting back into the schools as we did in the past,” he said. “There’s so much talent lingering in those spaces. We can’t just hope people will show up. We need to go into the schools, see the talent firsthand and pick them out early so they have the opportunity to work and push toward their goals.
Getting back into the schools would make a major difference because there’s so much talent there. It might not be tennis, but once they try tennis, they may realise they’re good at footwork, or maybe football. Getting back to the youngsters and reviving that vision for them is key. Times have changed, and doing this would really help a lot of people, especially the youth.”
Once Barbados’ Under-15 captain in football, King has been a regular squad member in the senior team under the tenure of Kent Hall, which is something he hasn’t taken for granted. Most recently King featured in the Trident’s 3-0 win over Bonaire at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua and Barbubda earlier this month in the 2025-2026 CONCACAF Friendly.
“I’m really happy that the national team is interested in what I can bring to the table,” King said.
“I have a different mindset than a lot of players, and I think my skills and talent are really different. I played a professional sport, I’ve been in that professional circle, and when it comes to national games or representing the country, I believe I’m a different calibre of person than people might think. I don’t even know where I find this energy or this change, but when those games come, they believe I can really assist them, and I’m obviously happy with that.
Kent has allowed me to play in a couple of games, and I don’t think I’ve let them down. They see what I can bring as a different mindset combined with the talent I have.” He added, “Even though I’m at an age people consider the ‘old age’ of football, I will always say football hasn’t gone past me. Not in terms of mindset. My age or my body might make it look that way, but mentally, I’m still up there competing with the youngsters because I’ve been in that environment for so long.
“For them to still look at me and say, ‘he still has something to bring to the table’, is huge, and I really appreciate it. Especially in the Caribbean, once you’re over 30, people tend to think you’re done in sports, so for them to still believe I can offer something different means a lot.”
Remarkably, King has stayed active not only in tennis but also in football and he considers balancing both sports at a national level one of his proudest achievements.
“After my whole tennis career and then to still try to balance tennis and football to play in the national team, I think that’s one of my biggest achievements,” he said.
King, the highest-ranked Barbadian player in history and a former world No. 106, remains proud of what he has contributed to Barbados so far.
“To come from a country with not much infrastructure or knowledge about the sport and still reach 106 in the world is a great achievement. Playing in the US Open and against top players, nothing can take that away. I’m happy that I could put Barbados and the Caribbean on the map and create hope for younger kids that anything is possible.”
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