Rio Olympic silver medalist Angelique Kerber, who won three Grand Slam titles, will retire from tennis after the Paris Games, the German player said Thursday.
Former world No. 1 Kerber, 36, finished runner-up to Puerto Rican Monica Puig at Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and won the Australian Open and US Open titles that year.
The left-hander won Wimbledon in 2018 and reached the quarterfinals on the red clay of Roland Garros twice.
“Before the @Olympics begin, I can already say that I will never forget #Paris2024, because it will be my last professional tournament as a tennis player,” Kerber wrote on social media.
After the draw, Kerber said, “I took the toughest decision of my life today. It’s really not so easy to make such a big decision. If I could, I would play forever, but there should be a time.”
Kerber returned to the WTA Tour this season after 18 months on a maternity break and bows out with 14 tournament wins in her career.
“Paris 2024 will mark the finish line of the most incredible journey I could have ever dreamed of growing up with a racket in my hand,” Kerber said.
The Paris Olympic tennis tournament runs from Saturday through Aug. 4 at Roland Garros.
