"A really tough decision that I made 6 years ago" - Ana Ivanovic opens up about her retirement

Opening up about her retirement from professional tennis, Ana Ivanovic stated that she took the decision as she did not feel fit enough to be competing at the top.

The Serbian played her career's last professional match in the first round of the 2016 US Open, where she lost against Denisa Allertova in straight sets. With injuries hampering her, she eventually called time on her career in late December of that year.

Ivanovic took to social media on Wednesday to share her thoughts on her retirement. While the former World No. 1 admitted that it was tough, she made it clear that it was the right choice and she did not regret it later.

"A really tough decision that I made 6 years ago, but never regretted. Stepping back from my career was hard, but that doesn’t mean that tennis hasn’t remained my passion after all," she wrote on her Instagram post.

The one-time Grand Slam champion revealed that injuries troubled her confidence and made her think about pursuing other things in life.

"I think it's always a very hard moment in your career when you make that decision but to be honest, last year or over a year, I was really struggling with lot of injuries and I felt like I could never get myself back in shape to be in the top and I really felt it was time for me to step back and to look for other opportuinites and other wishes that I had for starting a different career," she stated.

Since retirement, the 35-year-old has shifted her focus to being an entrepreneur in the skincare business. She owns a cosmetics line called the Ana Ivanovic Natural Performance.

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"You learn so much about yourself and it helped me grow a lot as a person" - Ana Ivanovic on the experiences gained during her tennis career

Ana Ivanovic at The Fire Pitch in Chicago

Ana Ivanovic, the 2008 French Open champion, expressed gratitude for the experiences that she acquired during her tennis career and stated that she grew as a person during her time on the tour.

"You're constantly under different kind of pressures, so you learn about yourself, especially tennis is an individual sport. You learn so much about yourself and it helped me grow a lot as a person and I really appreciate all these experiences," she said.

"I feel like I do have a little bit of different or maybe better mindset now than I had maybe 10 years ago, it's all a process of learning and working on yourself," she added.