Due to a back injury, former World No. 2 Anett Kontaveit has announced her retirement from tennis following Wimbledon, capping off an impressive 13-year run on the Hologic WTA Tour.
Former World No.2 Anett Kontaveit announced that she will retire from tennis after Wimbledon because of a back injury. Kontaveit had an excellent 13-year career on the Hologic WTA Tour.
Kontaveit revealed that she is dealing with lumbar disc degeneration, which has stripped away her ability to train fully or compete effectively. This explains why 2023 felt like such a decline compared to her brilliant 2022 season; the injury kept her from playing her best tennis, resulting in disappointing early losses at both the Australian Open and the French Open.
In a post on Instagram, she officially announced her retirement from professional sports. She explained that following multiple doctor appointments and specialist consultations, it was confirmed that she has lumbar disc degeneration, a condition that makes high-level training and competition impossible.
The 27-year-old Estonian admitted that the sheer intensity of the modern game makes it impossible to stay at the top with such an injury. She reflected on her career with gratitude, noting that tennis provided her with invaluable life lessons and that she took great pride in waving the Estonian flag and playing for her fans worldwide.
Looking ahead, she is excited for a new chapter in her life, but first wants to give everything she has left at Wimbledon, playing with passion and determination one last time. She ended her message by thanking her supporters for their loyalty. Throughout her career, her standout Grand Slam performance came at the 2020 Australian Open, where she fought her way to the quarterfinals after notable wins over Belinda Bencic and the top-ranked Iga Swiatek.
Since making her WTA debut in 2012, Kontaveit secured six singles titles out of 16 final appearances. Her climb to the World No. 2 spot in June 2022 was a career highlight, as was her run to the final of the 2021 WTA Finals in Guadalajara.
The end of 2021 saw Kontaveit in peak form, posting a dominant 29-4 record across her final eight tournaments and claiming four titles. Her resume also includes reaching the finals of the WTA 1000 events in Wuhan (2018) and Doha (2022). Meanwhile, the tennis world looks toward Wimbledon at the All England Club, which kicks off on July 3.