Former No. 1 Mauresmo retires
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Two-time Grand Slam champion Amelie Mauresmo retired from tennis
Thursday, saying she no longer had a burning desire for
competition.
The 30-year-old Frenchwoman is a former No. 1 player who
finished this season at No. 21.
"I don't want to train anymore," Mauresmo said after shedding
tears about the decision. "I had to make a decision, which became
evident in the last few months and weeks. When you grew older, it's
more difficult to stay at the top."
Mauresmo, who won both of her Grand Slam titles in 2006, at
the Australian Open and Wimbledon, said she was happy to leave on a
good note after winning her 25th singles title - her first in
almost two years - in Paris this season. She also had seven wins
over Top 10 players in her final year.
"It's a bit sad, but this is the right decision," Mauresmo
said. "I was lucky enough to have an exceptional career and to
experience very strong feelings on the court."
Mauresmo, who was the No. 1 in 2004, played her last match in
the second round of this year's U.S. Open, losing to Aleksandra
Wozniak of Canada 6-4, 6-0. She pulled out of her last two
tournaments of the year.
"It became very hard in buildup to the U.S. Open," Mauresmo
said. "If I were able to enter the court, play and shine, of course
I could continue, but to achieve this you need to put in such hard
work. And I'm not capable of that."
Mauresmo said she has no regrets and feels proud when she
looks back at a career that started in 1993.
"I dreamt of this career, I dreamt of winning a Grand Slam
title," she said. "I lifted trophies in every city in the world and
I lived 10 magical and unbelievable years."
Mauresmo, who says she decided to play tennis after watching
Yannick Noah win the 1983 French Open, became the first player from
France - male or female - to reach the No. 1 spot on Sept. 13,
2004. She held it for five weeks and recaptured it on March 20,
2006, holding it for the majority of that year until falling from
the top on Nov. 12. In total, she spent 39 weeks at No. 1.
"I dreamt of this career, I dreamt of winning a Grand Slam
title. I lifted trophies in every city in the world and I lived 10
magical and unbelievable years."
— Amelie Mauresmo
But she was never able to emulate Noah's feat of winning on
the clay at Roland Garros, failing to go beyond the quarterfinals
at the Grand Slam tournament in Paris, where she struggled to
withstand the pressure in front of her home crowd.
Mauresmo also won the Fed Cup with France in 2003 and the WTA
Tour championship in 2005. She won the Olympic silver medal in
Athens in 2004.
She had her best season in 2006, winning the Australian Open
and Wimbledon with victories over Justine Henin in the finals.
"Amelie will go down in history as one of the best players of
her generation and a terrific ambassador for women's tennis," WTA
Tour chairman Stacey Allaster said. "Amelie is an extraordinary
player, one of the nicest and friendliest personalities on Tour,
and a true champion both in tennis and in life."
Asked about a possible comeback, Mauresmo said her decision
was definitive.
"Even if I've learned to never say never," the Frenchwoman
said. "The players you are thinking about stopped earlier than me
before coming back."
Former No. 1 Henin confirmed in October she'll make her
return to the WTA Tour at the Brisbane International - two weeks
before the Australian Open. Kim Clijsters won the U.S. Open in
September after coming back from two years in retirement.