"I know I gave it my all": Kontaveit opens up on retiring at age 27 a year on from being WTA World No.2

Anett Kontaveit conveyed her pride in her tennis career accomplishments despite recently retiring at Wimbledon.

The Estonian athlete announced that she would play her final professional match at Wimbledon, bringing an end to her career at the age of 27. As a former world No. 2, she has been dealing with a herniated disc that has hindered her ability to play sports regularly, particularly during the first months of 2023, where she only managed to secure three wins at the WTA level.

In 2021, Anett Kontaveit had her best year in her career, winning four titles between August and October and reaching the final of the WTA Finals, where she was defeated by Garbine Muguruza. In her last match as a professional, Kontaveit was defeated by the 32nd seed, Marie Bouzkova, in the second round of Wimbledon. In the first round, she secured her last victory as a professional against Italian Lucrezi Stefanini.

Kontaveit gave an interview on Estonian television, where she mentioned that she is getting accustomed to her new lifestyle after retiring from professional tennis.

"I've been quietly going to the gym and exercising. I've been busy, I've been learning. It's definitely an unusual time. I think it's going to take a while to figure out what things are going to look like. For it to become normal.''

With six titles in her career, Kontaveit is the greatest Estonian tennis player in history, having reached world No. 2, just behind Iga Swiatek

"I know I gave it my all, and as much as I could. Unfortunately, my back was the way it was. It got a lot of knocks before it finally gave in. I'm not the type of person who regrets things very much. I know that I gave it my best and it went how it went. It's better to concentrate on the positive things I achieved than to think about what I didn't do,"

"[There have been] a lot of things to be very happy about and to have had people who were able to celebrate with me. There have also been some moments when things have been harder. The whole experience is something I will keep in my heart," she concluded.