One of the most accomplished British tennis players, 30-year-old Johanna Konta has announced her retirement from professional tennis. Top achievements Australia's Sydney is Konta's place of birth. Born to Hungarian parents, Konta moved to Britain at just 14 and represented Great Britain for the first time in 2012. The tennis player climbed to a career-high ranking of No 4 in 2017 and also became the first British woman in over 30 years to reach a grand slam quarter-final. She competed in three semi-finals including the Wimbledon semis in 2017. Her Miami Open win in 2017 is the highlight of her career. Konta walks away with head held high This is how Konta looks at her decision of calling it quits. “It was not straightforward, it was not simple, it was not written in the stars. It was earned and it was hard fought for. I feel very, very proud of myself and for the people around me who were with me on this journey. I’m probably the poster child of somebody who carved out a career for them when all evidence pointed that it was not going to happen. I think if I can give any hope, motivation or inspiration to anyone who ever felt they were too old or not talented enough or overlooked, anything along those lines, I think I would feel very happy with that.” How the decision came to her However, she had been plagued by a knee injury, and with her dropping to No 113 in the world after starting the year ranked 14th, a breakthrough either way was always near. "I remember when I got back from the U.S., that's where it kind of culminated and where I felt like the decision was coming. Not too long after that, I felt like I was making the decision. I held my racquet because I was putting it away and I started crying. So in that sense, it is a breakup. But it is amicable because I don't look back on my career and judge it according to everything that it took from me to achieve it. I do look back on it and just see everything that it gave me and everything it's allowed me to experience. I definitely see it like that, not on the negative side of what it took to experience those things." One can only wish the former British No 1 all the best for her next innings in life.
