Estonian Anett Kontaveit, who reached a career high of No. 2 in the world last year, said she is retiring at the age of 27 due to a degenerative back injury and will play her final tournament at Wimbledon next month.
Kontaveit cut her 2022 season short in October and took another two-month break in February to focus on the issue.
“After several doctor’s visits and consultations with my medical team, I have been advised that I have lumbar disc degeneration in my back,” she wrote on Instagram on Tuesday.
“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.
“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.”
Kontaveit, now ranked 79th in the world, exited the Australian Open in the second round and has not played since a first-round defeat at the French Open in May.
A quarterfinal run at Melbourne Park in 2020 is her best Grand Slam result to date.
Kontaveit won four titles and reached the WTA Finals in a breakthrough 2021 season and was ranked world No. 2 last September at the U.S. Open, where she lost to Serena Williams in the second round.