Two-time Grand Slam champion Amelie Mauresmo is calling it quits, announcing her retirement Thursday, December 3, 2009. Finishing this season at No. 21, the 30-year-old Frenchwoman says she no longer has a burning desire for competition.
“I don’t want to train anymore,” Mauresmo said after shedding tears about the decision. “I had to make a decision, which became evident in the last few months and weeks. When you grow older, it’s more difficult to stay at the top.”
Mauresmo turned pro in 1993, and played the first event of her career on the ITF Circuit in France. She continued playing on the ITF Circuit in 1994 and ended the year ranked No. 827. From there she continued a steady climb up the rankings, reaching that ultimate goal of No. 1 on September 13, 2004, the first player from France, male or female, to reach the No. 1 spot. She spent 39 weeks at No. 1.
The last three years have been a story of gradual decline and injuries, with Mauresmo winning only two titles since that All England Club triumph. The last of those – her 25th – came in stunning fashion in Paris in February and hinted at a revival, but it was not to be and Mauresmo ends her career ranked 21st in the world.
Following her Antwerp Diamond Games victory in 2007, she took longer than expected to recover from an appendectomy and suffered a series of injuries. She then spent two years in the wilderness and thought about quitting before storming back to claim the Paris Open title in February this year.
However, she failed to maintain the momentum, losing to the Russian Dinara Safina in the fourth round at Wimbledon in a match completed under Centre Court’s new roof. She then lost 6-4, 6-0 to Canada’s Aleksandra Wozniak in the second round of the US Open in her last competitive game.
“It became very hard in the build-up to the US Open,” Mauresmo said. “If I were able to enter the court, play and shine, of course I could continue, but to achieve this you need to put in such hard work. And I’m not capable of that.”
Mauresmo says she has no regrets and feels proud when she looks back at her career. “I dreamt of this career, I dreamt of winning a Grand Slam title,” she said. “I lifted trophies in every city in the world and I lived 10 magical and unbelievable years.”
Mauresmo ends her WTA career with 25 tournament titles including last February’s Paris Indoors, and nearly $15 million in winnings. The 2006 wins at Wimbledon and the Australia Open were her only Grand Slam titles. She played on 11 Fed Cup teams, helping France to the championship in 2003, and also won a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics. That’s a rather good 16-year career.
“Amelie will go down in history as one of the best players of her generation and a terrific ambassador for women’s tennis,” WTA Tour chairman Stacey Allaster said. “Amelie is an extraordinary player, one of the nicest and friendliest personalities on Tour, and a true champion both in tennis and in life.”
Asked about a possible comeback, Mauresmo said her decision was definitive.
