Noah Says He Will Hang Up Racket

French tennis star Yannick Noah said in a magazine interview published today that he plans to retire at the end of this year.

Noah, 29, who became a national hero when he won the French Open men’s singles title in 1983, told the monthly Tennis de France he hopes to leave the sport in style.

“1990 is the last year. A good one, I hope,” he was quoted as saying.

The year has started well for the flamboyant Frenchman as he tunes up for the season’s first Grand Slam event, the Australian Open. Noah reached the quarterfinals of the New South Wales Open in Sydney today with a 6-4 6-3 victory over Ronald Agenor of Haiti.

Noah spoke last September of renewed enthusiasm for the sport after battling his way into the U.S. Open quarterfinals and said today that his new partnership with coach Dennis Ralston “has put some fire into me.”

But Ralston has not changed Noah’s mind about retiring from tennis, which he will leave with some bitterness.

“Everything is scandalous in tennis,” Noah said. “But it doesn’t stop me sleeping at night. Anyway in December, 1990, I will be far away from it.”

In particular, Noah attacked the Assn. of Tennis Professionals, which has taken over running of the men’s tennis circuit this year.

“We’ll be playing even more than before, and it will be even harder to reach what we wanted--to be exhausted less often.

“We gave a blank check to a group of guys whose president is Hamilton Jordan. And we players are seen as the mugs. The day when it all goes up in smoke, I’ll be on my boat.”

An opinion poll published by the sports daily L’Equipe this week showed Noah to be France’s best-known sports personality. Only 2% of Frenchmen said they had not heard of him.

Noah was equally critical of the way tennis is being run in his country.

“French tennis is not advancing; it’s going down,” he said. “The system is not one to produce champions, that’s clear. It’s just a way of throwing money out of the window.”

Noah, who lives in Switzerland, said he is not yet sure what he will do after he retires.

“I could coach old ladies in private clubs, but that’s not what I’m looking for,” he said.