In 2017, became the first British woman to have reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in 39 years. She also had a lot of other Grand Slam top finishes including reaching the quarter finals at the US Open in 2019 and being in the last four at the Australian Open in 2016 and the French Open in 2019.
Asked why she is retiring, Konta stated that she had run out of steam, and that the decision to retire was many months in the making.
Talking to WTA Insider, she said, “For me, it’s just about putting my emotional, mental, physical well-being in the position to put that energy and work in to be able to do that. It’s that link of being able to convince yourself to be in pain.”
Continuing, she said, “So when you get to that point, you can’t put your best self on display because you haven’t put in the work for it and you just don’t have the energy to put in the work for it.”
She is considered as one of the most successful British female players in her generation. In addition to her Grand Slam performances, Konta has also won four WTA Tour titles and she is ranked as one of the worlds best tennis players.
In the recent years, she had struggled with her game and her form. She dropped to No.113th in the world this year. She told WTA Insider that her decision to retire from professionally playing came after she returned from playing at the 2021 US Open.
She had been dealing with injuries over the past few seasons and was plagued by issues with her right knee and tendonitis.
Her announcement was met with commemoration of her successes from other tennis greats including Anne Keothavong who said, “What Johanna accomplished on the court was incredible, but her professional aptitude is what set her apart. As a Billie Jean King Cup player representing her country, she laid it all out there, led by example and who can forget her marathon performances in 2019 during our first home ties in more than quarter of a century?”
Former British No.1 Greg Rusedski said, “Well done on a brilliant tennis career. You should be so proud of everything you have achieved.”