Former top 10 player Julia Goerges has said her goodbyes to tennis after announcing her retirement from the sport.
In a shock announcement the 31 year-old from Regensburg, Germany announced her retirement from the sport that she had been playing since she was five years old.
Speaking on Instagram and her website, Goerges paid tribute to the sport she has been apart for over two decades, “I am writing to you, because I am ready to say “Goodbye”,” The German explained.
“When I started playing tennis at the age of 5, I would never have thought that we would go such a long way together.
“You have given me so many different types of emotions throughout our journey and I am very thankful for everything you have shown and taught me. I learnt how to deal with the toughest losses but also enjoy the most amazing wins of my career, to fight back many times when I was struggling with you and through it all we never lost sight of our dreams.
“I always knew how I would feel when it is time to say goodbye to you, and that moment has arrived. I am ready to close the tennis chapter of my life and open a new one, which I am really excited about. Thank you for everything you have given me. You will stay forever in my heart.”
The news comes as a shock to many people as earlier in the year Goerges had originally said that she would continue for another 2-3 years.
However in the current circumstances, Goerges probably felt that this was the perfect timing to announce her retirement from the sport.
It was a career that started by winning the biggest title of her career in Stuttgart before a serious injury derailed her progress.
However a late surge in her late-20s, saw her win a total of 12 WTA titles and reach the semi-finals of a grand slam for the first time at Wimbledon 2017.
Now it seems Goerges’ 2nd round exit against Laura Siegemund was the last match of her career as she sets her sights on being involved with tennis off the court especially with her new performance app ‘Recast Tennis.’
A career that she can be very proud of, Happy retirement Julia Goerges!
