The former world No 2 Anett Kontaveit has announced she will retire after Wimbledon next month at the age of 27 because of the chronic back injury that has troubled her for the past eight months.
In a social media post on Tuesday, the Estonian explained that the back condition, lumbar disc degeneration, has made it impossible for her to continue to compete at the highest level. The syndrome, usually age-related, occurs when wear and tear on a spinal disc leads to lower back pain.
“Today I am announcing that I am ending my career as a competitive athlete,” she wrote on Instagram. “After several doctor’s visits and consultations with my medical team, I have been advised that I have lumbar disc degeneration in my back.
“This does not allow for full-scale training or continued competition. Therefore it is impossible to continue at the top level in such a highly competitive field.”
A top-30 player for much of her career, Kontaveit is known for her aggressive shotmaking off both wings, particularly with her two-handed backhand, and her willingness to take the ball early and dominate from inside the baseline. Her big breakthrough came in the final months of 2021 as she finally found the mental strength to match her ball-striking and she compiled an incredible run until the end of the season. Kontaveit won 28 of her 30 matches and four titles as she rose from No 30 in August and clinched an unlikely place in the WTA Finals by winning a title in the final week of the season.
Kontaveit reached a career high ranking of No 2 after Wimbledon last year, where she remained until she lost a dramatic three-set match against Serena Williams in the second round of the US Open, the final victory of Williams’s career. Kontaveit is the highest-ranked player from Estonia, a country of 1.3 million people.
After enjoying the greatest moments of her career 18 months ago and positioning herself to achieve even more, the end has come quickly. Kontaveit’s back began to give her significant problems in October and she struggled in the final weeks of the season.
After retiring from her second-round match in Abu Dhabi against Shelby Rogers in February, she took two months off in an attempt to recover. Kontaveit’s struggles continued on her return during the clay season and she lost in straight sets in the first round of the French Open to Bernarda Pera. Her win-loss record is 3-7 in 2023 and after being the second-best player in the world last summer, she is now No 79.
“Tennis has given and taught me a lot, and I am very grateful for that,” she wrote. “It has been important to me to bring the Estonian flag to the tennis courts and to be able to play in front of my supporters and fans all over the world.
“I am ready for new challenges after my last effort as a professional tennis player – to enjoy the game and compete as hard as I can at Wimbledon.”
Alongside her fierce competitiveness, Kontaveit was a popular figure among her fellow pros on the WTA Tour for her sportsmanship and friendliness off court. “I will miss this lovely lady,” Ons Jabeur wrote on Twitter.
