Once again the Luxembourg Ladies Masters is the best tournament of the year. Safarova, Parmentier, Minella, Kontaveit, Puig, Hantuchova, Clijsters and Petkovic are playing!!
Luxembourg calling! Anett Kontaveit set to return to the court at Ladies Tennis Masters after retirement two months ago
Tennis NewsSaturday, 23 September 2023 at 17:30
Anett Kontaveit has been moving on from her professional tennis career while still enjoying the sport she loves by entering into exhibition matches. Most recently, it was revealed that she will play at the Luxembourg Ladies Tennis Masters from October 18-22.
27-year-old Kontaveit was World No. 2 in the WTA Ranking in 2022 and reached many great heights throughout her tennis career. The Estonian player won six titles on the WTA Tour and made it to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open in 2020.
However, she announced this summer that she would be retiring from the sport due to a chronic back issue known as lumbar disc degeneration, which meant that she would no longer be able to continue playing at the same level. Her final tournament was Wimbledon in July, with her last match being against Marie Bouzkova in the second round.
Kontaveit moves to exhibition events
Kontaveit is now set to compete at the second edition of the invitational tournament in Luxembourg. Among the other retired players at the event will be former World No. 1 Kim Clijsters, along with Andrea Petkovic, Lucie Safarova, Daniela Hantuchova, 2016 Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig, Pauline Parmentier, and home player Mandy Minella.
The total prize money at the event is €110,000. The winner will earn $50k while the runner-up will get $20k.
40-year-old Clijsters, who won six Grand Slam titles across singles and doubles during her professional career, won the inaugural edition of the tournament last year, which was set up as a way for retired WTA players to compete under a more professional brand.
Kontaveit also set for exhibition event in Tallinn
Kontaveit is also set to play at an exhibition event in Tallinn later this year, where she will meet three-time major finalist Ons Jabeur, who is still an active player and the current World No. 7.
The match is scheduled for November 11, with Kontaveit saying that she will need to ensure she practices before taking on Jabeur.
"I will definitely have to [pick up the racket again] before then to play Ons Jabeur.
To do that, I'll definitely have to start training properly. I'm trying to keep in shape now so that training again won't be such a shock to my body. But I will have to prepare properly for a long time before I will be able to keep up with her," she said on the ETV show "Ringvaade".
Now, it seems as though the Luxembourg Ladies Tennis Masters will be a perfect opportunity for her to get some practice in beforehand.
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