Angelique Kerber was the top tennis player and the most successful German player since Steffi Graf. After the Summer Olympics in Paris, it should be the end.
Tennis star Angelique Kerber, a three-time Grand Slam champion, retires after the Olympics.
Angelique Kerber will retire from tennis after the Olympics. She revealed her decision on Instagram before the Paris Summer Games began.
“Before Olympia begins, I can already say that I will never forget Paris 2024, because it will be my last professional tournament as a tennis player,” stated the 36-year-old. “And, while this may be the right option, it will never feel that way. Simply because I adore the sport and am grateful for the experiences and opportunities it has provided me.”
Kerber became a mother for the first time 17 months ago and was unable to regain top athletic form upon her return. She won the Australian and US Opens in 2016, becoming the second German world number one after Steffi Graf. Two years later, she won Wimbledon’s grass-court classic. Kerber is the most successful German tennis player after Graf. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, she also earned silver medal.
Angelique Kerber’s comeback after maternity leave failed
Kerber gave birth to her daughter Liana in late February 2022. She returned from maternity leave just before the turn of the year. She did not, however, go past the first round of the Australian Open, French Open, or Wimbledon. After her heartbreaking Wimbledon exit three weeks ago, she had left open the possibility that this would be her final participation at a Grand Slam tournament in London. Kerber is retiring before than thought.
“I have always watched the Olympics on TV as a child and imagined winning a medal, and it didn’t matter what color the medal was,” Kerber said in an interview with “Vogue” magazine just before the start of the Olympics in Paris: “So it’s a personal highlight for me to be there this year and soak up that special energy.”
Kerber’s Olympic dreams extend beyond her tennis career, as she mentioned admiring the Olympic Games on TV as a child and imagining winning a medal, regardless of its color. Although Kerber is retiring from tennis after the Olympic Games in Paris, Steffi Graf, a former world number one, also excelled in tennis, winning multiple Grand Slams and earning an Olympic Silver Medal at the 1988 Seoul Summer Games. Tennis is not just a sport for Kerber, but a source of joy and gratitude; she has had an illustrious career, winning the Australian Open and US Open in 2016, and becoming the most successful German tennis player behind Graf. Despite her retirement announcement, the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris, officially named Olympia, will hold a special place in her heart as it marks the end of her professional tennis journey.
