Johanna Konta confirms retirement from tennis aged 30

Former British number one ‘incredibly grateful’ after knee injury hastens exit

Johanna Konta has announced her retirement from tennis aged 30. Photograph: Clive Brunskill/Getty
Johanna Konta has announced her retirement from tennis aged 30. Photograph: Clive Brunskill/Getty

Former British number one Johanna Konta has announced her retirement from tennis.

The 30-year-old has struggled with a persistent knee problem over the past couple of years and has slipped to 113 in the rankings.

Konta made the announcement on social media with a post headed ‘Grateful’.

She wrote: “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.

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“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.

“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. I got to become what I wanted and said as a child.

“How incredibly fortunate I count myself to be. How grateful I am.”

She wrote: “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.

“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. 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. I got to become what I wanted and said as a child.

“How incredibly fortunate I count myself to be. How grateful I am.”