Ana Ivanovic announced today that she is retiring from professional tennis, after a 14-year career that included a French Open crown, 15 WTA titles and becoming the first Serbian player to hold the top ranking in the world,
"I've decided to retire from professional tennis. It has been a difficult decision, but there is so much to celebrate," Ivanovic told fans in a message via her Facebook page. "I began dreaming of tennis when I was five and saw Monica Seles play on TV. My parents backed me all the way, and by the time I was ranked No.1 in the world and won Roland Garros in 2008, I've seen the heights I've never dreamt of achieving."
The 29-year-old leaves the game having been one of only 21 players to have ever held the WTA World No.1 ranking, reaching the top spot on June 9, 2008. Ivanovic held the No.1 ranking for a total of 12 weeks, from June 9 - Aug. 10, 2008 for nine weeks before capturing the top spot again for three more weeks until Sept. 7, 2008. Ivanovic's best season was in 2008 when she claimed the Roland Garros title, catapulting her to the WTA World No.1 ranking. She also won titles at Indian Wells and Linz and was runner-up at the Australian Open that same year.
I always liked Ana, both for her Jennifer Capriati-like game and her sweet demeanor. But like so many female players, her mental game fell apart once she got to the top, which made for many frustrating years of fandom. There's always two ways to look at players like her -- did she underachieve or did she overachieve -- and perhaps now that her career is over it's best to think of her as having done the latter.
Enjoy retirement and your not-as-hot-as-he-should-be hubby, Ana!
1 comment:
As much of a fan that you are, I'm not. I won't miss her on-court displays after each point she won, whether by forcing the error or worse, after an opponent's unforced error.
Pretty girl, but a big old head case who was not tennis' sportsmanship winner ever.
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