4 notable Tennis players who retired in 2018

The 2018 tennis season is drawing to a close and a few noteworthy veterans have decided to hang up their racquets and retire from professional tennis. Last year saw the retirement of multiple Grand Slam champion Martina Hingis and former World Number 1 Ana Ivanovic. The year 2018 also was the first full season of Czech star Petra Kvitova since her horrific knife attack. The year also saw comeback mom Serena Williams make two consecutive Grand Slam finals appearances.

Ageless wonders Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Angelique Kerber all aged 30 and above won Grand Slams this year. Serena Williams has confirmed her participation at 2019 Australian Open and the world will watch with bated breath as she continues to battle it out in her quest to achieve the distinction of being the holder of the most Grand Slam titles of all-time.

We take a look at 4 notable players who will not play a part in the 2019 tennis season :

#1 Roberta Vinci

The Italian Roberta Vinci who was a runner-up in the all-Italian US Open final of 2015 has decided to call it quits this year. A prolific doubles player, Roberta Vinci won 5 Grand Slam Doubles titles and reached Number 1 in the WTA doubles rankings. Her highest singles ranking of Number 7 came in May 2016. Vinci most notably put a stop to Serena Williams' chase of a Calendar Slam at the 2015 US Open semi-finals.

Serena was bidding to become only the 4th woman to win all 4 Grand Slam titles in the same year. At the age of 33, she became the oldest ever player to be ranked inside the WTA Top-10 for the first time. Vinci who is one of the few players in the Tour to employ a one-handed backhand won a total of 35 WTA titles.

#2 Francesca Schiavone

Italian Francesca Schiavone is one of 4 Italian women to have been ranked in the WTA Top-10 and was the first Italian to win a Grand Slam title. Her career-defining moment came at the 2010 French Open final where she beat Samantha Stosur in straight sets to take home her maiden Grand Slam singles title.

Schiavone, a gifted clay court player made the final at Roland Garros next year but unfortunately, she finished as runner-up. Having reached a career-high ranking of Number 4 and with 8 WTA Singles titles, Schiavone decided to quit professional tennis at the age of 38 earlier this year.

#3 Mikhail Youzhny

Nicknamed 'Colonel' by his fans, Russian Mikhail Youzhny was the top-ranked player in Russia for many years and reached a career-high ranking of World Number 8 in January 2008. Youzhny spent many weeks in the Top 10 and has progressed to at least the quarterfinals stage in every Grand Slam tournament.

His best performance came at the 2006 US Open where he made the semi-finals after beating Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals. Youzhny was part of the victorious Russian Davis Cup Team in 2002 and 2006. The 2018 St. Petersburg Open was his last tournament. Youzhny retired with 10 ATP singles titles.

#4 Gilles Mueller

Left-handed Gilles Mueller of Luxembourg was a prolific grass court player and enjoyed considerable success in grass court events throughout his career. The most notable tennis athlete from Luxembourg, Mueller was a two-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist with quarterfinals appearances at the 2008 US Open and 2017 Wimbledon Championships.

Gilles Mueller made history with fellow veteran Ivo Karlovic as the finalists with the oldest combined age in an ATP tournament at the 2017 Ricoh Open. Mueller won that match. His crowning achievement came when he beat Rafael Nadal in the 4th round of the 2017 Wimbledon Championships in an epic 5-set contest. Mueller announced his retirement before the 2018 US Open.

Edited by Vikshith R