Former world No. 1 Ivanovic retires at age 29

BELGRADE - Former French Open champion Ana Ivanovic has retired from tennis at the age of 29, the Serbian said on Facebook Wednesday. “There is no other way to say this. I have decided to retire from professional tennis. It was a difficult decision but there is so much to celebrate,” Ivanovic said. “Don’t be sad, be optimistic alongside me. My love and my greatest thank you to all of you,” said the former world No. 1 who has dropped to 63rd in the rankings. Ivanovic spent 12 weeks as world No. 1 in 2008 and won 15 career singles titles. She reached the French Open semifinal in 2015 and was runner-up at Roland Garros in 2007 and at the 2008 Australian Open. “I began dreaming about playing tennis when I was five and saw Monica Seles playing on TV,” she added. The Serb added: “I was ranked No. 1 in the world and won Roland Garros in 2008. I’ve seen the highs I never dreamt of achieving. “I won 15 WTA tour titles, (and played in) three Grand Slam finals and Fed Cup finals and played so many memorable matches. “Any professional sport requires top physical form and it’s well known that I’ve been hampered by injury. “I can only play if I can perform up to my own high standard and I can no longer do that so it’s time to move on.” Ivanovic’s last outing was a first-round loss at the US Open in September, a result that saw her drop out of the top 50 for the first times since 2010. She announced at the time that she had taken the decision to stop playing until 2017 on medical advice over a recurring wrist injury, with a problematic toe also needing surgery.