Konta retires from tennis

Former British No.1 Jo Konta has retired from professional tennis, saying in an online statement she was “incredibly grateful” for her career.

Konta won four titles on the WTA tour, and reached the semi-final of Wimbledon in 2017 – the first British women to do so in 39 years.

“Grateful. This is the word I’ve probably used most during my career, and is the word that I feel explains it best at the end,” she wrote.

“My playing career has come to an end, and I am so incredibly grateful for the career that it turned out to be. All the evidence pointed towards me not “making” it in this profession.

“However my luck materialised in the people that came into my life and impacted my existence in ways that transcended tennis.

“I am so incredibly grateful for these people. You know who you are.

“Through my own resilience and through the guidance of others, I got to live my dreams. I got to become what I wanted and said as a child.

“How incredibly fortunate I count myself to be. How grateful I am.”