Anett Kontaveit of Estonia, who achieved a career-high ranking of second in the world last year, announced her retirement at the age of 27 due to a degenerative back injury and will play her last tournament at Wimbledon next month.
Kontaveit shortened her 2022 season in October and took another 2 month break in February to focus on the issue.
Taking to her Instagram account, she shared a pic and penned, “After several doctor’s visits and consultations with my medical team, I have been advised that I have lumbar disc degeneration in my back.”
She added, “This does not allow for full-scale training or continued competition. Therefore, it is impossible to continue at the top level in such a highly competitive field. I am ready for new challenges after my last effort as a professional tennis player – to enjoy the game and compete as hard as I can at Wimbledon.”
Check out the post here!
Kontaveit, who is presently ranked 79th in the world, lost in the second round of the Australian Open and hasn’t competed since losing in the first round of the French Open in May.
Kontaveit won 4 championships and reached the WTA Finals in her breakthrough 2021 season and she was ranked world number 2 last September at the U.S. Open, where she lost in the 2nd round to Serena Williams.