Former British No 1 Johanna Konta announced retirement from tennis on Wednesday, after 10 years on tour.
The 30-year-old has struggled with persistent knee trouble over the past two years and has slipped to 113 in the world rankings — a far cry from her career high of World No 4.
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“Grateful,” she wrote on a social media post, “This is the word that I’ve probably used the most during my career and is the word that I feel explains it best in the end.”
A little update from me 👋 pic.twitter.com/L1tpjDHW1o
— Johanna Konta (@JohannaKonta) December 1, 2021
“My playing career has come to an end, and I am so incredibly grateful for the career that it turned out to be. All the evidence pointed towards me not ‘making’ it in this profession,” she continued.
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“However my luck materialised in the people that came into my life and impacted my existence in ways that transcended tennis.
“I am so incredibly grateful for these people. You know who you are. Through my own resilience and through the guidance of others, I got to live my dreams.”
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Konta was a three-time major semifinalist, reaching the final four at 2016 Australian Open, 2017 Wimbledon, and 2019 Roland Garros.
Konta captured the biggest of her four titles at the WTA 1000 event in Miami in 2017, defeating Simona Halep, Venus Williams, and Caroline Wozniacki in succession.
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Her last title came this summer, winning in Nottingham.
She credited her mid-career turnaround – she is the first to remind you she spent the majority of her career on the ITF Pro Circuit – to the work she did with her mental coach, Juan Coto, who gave her invaluable tools not just for tennis, but life.
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“I’m a poster child for people who ever feel too old to make it in anything,” Konta told WTA Insider.
“I’m a poster child for people who have been told they’re nothing special or not that good or that their time is gone or they don’t show that much promise. I’m a poster child for those players and those people who just base their career on resilience and on hard work.”
