Former World number one and grand slam champion Ana Ivanovic has announced her retirement from tennis at the age of 29.
Ivanovic announced her retirement on Wednesday evening at 6pm UK time, via Facebook. In the announcement she explains how she came to her decision saying that “I’ve decided to retire from professional tennis. It has been a difficult decision, but there has been so much to celebrate.” Also in the video she also talks about how her interest of tennis came about when she was five and started to watch Monica Seles on the Tv. She also elaborates on her well documented accomplishments, saying “I’ve seen the highs that I never dreamt of achieving. I won 15 WTA titles, played three grand slams and a Fed Cup final.”
However she then refers to her injuries and how the decision came about, “It has been well known I have been hampered by injuries. I can only play if I am up to my own high standards and I can no longer do that.” She also revealed her next steps in life, ” I will become an ambassador of sport and healthy life. I will also explore opportunities in beauty, business and fashion among other endeavours.”
It is obvious that Ivanovic was self-doubting if she could continue to raise her game and compete with the sports best, which lead to this decision. Her announcement is very commendable considering how very few people would know to stop now at her age. Ivanovic can be very proud of her accomplishments as she won 15 WTA titles between 2005 and 2014. She also won the French Open in 2008 and spent 12 weeks at world number one. Below you can see the full video and her written statement:
To my dear supporters…. pic.twitter.com/9ycCamNela
— Ana Ivanovic (@anaivanovic) December 28, 2016
We wish Ana Ivanovic every success in life after tennis.
