"Not in an amount as Serena Williams, but in my own little world, I feel I brought everything to tennis and my narrative was done" - Andrea Petkovic in emotional retirement message

All good things must come to an end, and that seems to be an overarching theme at the 2022 US Open. Serena Williams' retirement announcement has stemmed a lot of conversations about an entire era of tennis coming to an end, with a change of guard being seen as inevitable.

Also playing in her final professional tournament, 2010s star player Andrea Petkovic, for one, feels this way. The former World No. 9 went down fighting against Belinda Bencic on Court 7 in what would now go down as her final Grand Slam match.

Speaking at her post-match press conference, the German, however, said the loss wasn't what bothered the most. The real struggle, Petkovic said, was coping with the idea that her body had given up on her — and by her own admission, she lost to a younger, fitter player.

Petkovic went on to say that she, for the first time this year, felt that her tennis narrative was coming to an end. The former World No. 9 said while not in the same amount as Williams, she still felt that she gave tennis everything that she had to offer over the course of her career.

"I think for me I still love the game," Petkovic said. "Still have a tremendous amount of passion for the game. It's more the body that is not allowing me to play tennis anymore in a way that I want to play it, train the way I want to train. It was fitting for me that I lost to a very young player. To somebody that's the future of tennis, so that felt fitting."

"I did feel this year also for the first time that my narrative has been told, I think I brought everything to the game that I had to give," she continued. "Obviously it's not in an amount as Serena, but in my own little world, I feel like I brought everything to it and my narrative was done. That was also part of it, that I just felt like I didn't have anything more to give."

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"I would love to be remembered for my grit and tenacity, the respect for the game and my opponents" - Andrea Petkovic

An emotional Petkovic waves to the crowd after Tuesday's match.

On being asked about the legacy that she wanted to leave behind, Andrea Petkovic said she would love to be remembered for her grit and tenacity — qualities that found a way to shine through even in her final contest on Tuesday.

Petkovic, who ended the match amid a rousing response from the Court 7 crowd and with a warm embrace from Belinda Bencic, was quick to add that the most important thing for her was to be remembered for the respect that she showed for the game and the player standing across the net in all of her matches.

"I think I would love to be remembered just what I mentioned in the beginning, the way I played the match today, which was always with grit and tenacity," Petkovic said. "I always fought for every point. I always was the most professional I could be. I always invested in my body. I always trained the hardest and the best I could. I was always open to new forms of training, trying new things."

"Then most importantly," she continued. "I think that's the most important to me, is just the respect for the game and the respect for my opponents. I always felt so grateful to be part of the WTA."