Johanna Konta, Britain’s number one for the past seven years, officially ended her career on Wednesday. The 30-year-old tennis player shared her decision on social networks with a letter titled ‘Thankful’. A tendinitis in the right knee, which has weighed it down in recent seasons, has precipitated the withdrawal of a player who was a semi-finalist at the 2016 Australian Open, Wimbledon 2017 and Roland Garros 2019, as well as a quarter-finalist at the US Open 2019.
Konta, daughter of Hungarian parents and born in Sydney (Australia), leaves after winning four WTA titles (Nottingham, Sydney, Miami and Stanford) and played another five finals (Rabat, Rome, Nottingham (twice) and Beijing). His highest ranking, number four in the world, reached him in 2017 and he has earned almost ten million euros during his career. “Through my own resilience and the guidance of others, I was able to live my dreams,” he wrote. “I became what I wanted and said as a child. How incredibly lucky I consider myself.”
Among many other rivals, she faced Garbiñe Muguruza five times (3-2 for the Spanish), with a particularly raw and remembered duel in the second round in Melbourne two years ago, when the two were fighting until well into the morning and Garbiñe won in three sets. Great Britain already has a relay for Konta in women’s tennis and it is very promising: Emma Raducanu, this year’s US Open champion.