LONDON (REUTERS, AFP) – Former world No. 4 Johanna Konta introduced her retirement from tennis on the age of 30 on Wednesday (Dec 1), saying she was grateful she obtained to reside her desires as an expert.
Struggling for type and health this yr, she dropped to 113th on this planet and performed her final tour match on the Cincinnati Open in August, struggling a first-round loss to Karolina Muchova.
The Briton withdrew from Wimbledon in June when a member of her group examined optimistic for Covid-19. She additionally missed the Tokyo Olympics after contracting the virus.
“Grateful – that is the phrase that I’ve most likely used probably the most throughout my profession, and is the phrase that I really feel explains it greatest on the finish,” Konta stated in a press release.
“My enjoying profession has come to an finish, and I’m so extremely grateful for the profession that it turned out to be.
“By means of my very own resilience and thru the steerage of others, I obtained to reside my desires. How extremely lucky I rely myself to be.”
In the meantime, British brief monitor velocity skater Elise Christie, who’s as well-known for her crashes as her titles, is ready to overlook the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
The previous world champion has been hampered by an ankle damage this season and completed behind fellow Scot Kathryn Thomson within the World Cup qualifying occasions.
“The ankle damage I sustained set me again too far. My coronary heart is shattered,” Christie stated on Instagram on Tuesday.
Solely the main level scorer from Britain is predicted to qualify for the Olympics subsequent February so the 31-year-old is ready to take a seat out the Video games.
Christie has turn into a widely known title in Britain after crashing out and struggling disqualifications on the final two Winter Olympics – and placing her emotions on public show after every setback.
Tennis star Konta achieved a career-high rating of fourth in 2017 after reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals. She additionally made the final 4 on the 2016 Australian Open and 2019 French Open.
She reached the quarter-finals on the 2016 Olympic Video games in Rio, dropping in straight units to Germany’s Angelique Kerber, who gained the silver.
“Johanna’s completed tennis profession has thrilled followers in Britain and all over the world,” Ladies’s Tennis Affiliation chairman Steve Simon stated.
“We want her nothing however nice happiness and success as she embarks on what I’m certain will probably be a really thrilling subsequent chapter of her life.”
