| GASOL | NBA veteran Pau ..., who has announced his retirement. (5) |
| CAROLDECKER | Singer in the band T'Pau who performed on The Masked Singer in 2025 (5,6) |
| JJREDICK | Former Duke superstar and 14-year NBA veteran whose name is the inspiration for this puzzle |
| CAINE | Knighted nonagenarian actor who has announced his retirement (7,5) |
| MICHAEL | Knighted nonagenarian actor who has announced his retirement (7,5) |
| DAN | Grid great Marino, who has announced his retirement |
| BARKLEY | Hoops great Charles, who has announced his retirement |
| ALISTAIR | Jonathan Brownlee's triathlete brother who has announced his retirement (8) |
| DANNY | Actor who has announced he's leaving the cast of EastEnders (5,4) |
| ROGER | Swiss tennis player who just announced his retirement, _ Federer (5) |
| BROAD | Stuart _, England cricketer who announced his retirement during the 2023 Ashes (5) |
| ISNER | John, U.S. tennis player who announced his retirement in 2023 (5) |
| DALEY | British diver who announced his retirement after the 2024 Olympics (3,5) |
| NADAL | Spanish tennis player who announced his retirement in 2024, Rafael _ (5) |
| ALEEM | This well-known umpire from Pakistan, who was in the ICC International Elite Panel, announced his retirement. (5) |
| ONEAL | 15-time N.B.A. All-Star who announced his retirement on Twitter |
| TYSON | Which boxer announced his retirement in January 2025? (5) |
| LALIT | Which Indian star recently announced his retirement from international hockey? (5) |
| EMCEE | Compere has announced award for 37 dn |
| ROGET | Physician and lexicographer who relieved his depression by compiling a thesaurus in his retirement (5) |
