Paris: France's two-time grand slam winner and former world number one Amelie Mauresmo announced her retirement from tennis on Thursday.
"I came here to announce the end of my career. I made this decision after careful consideration," Mauresmo told a news conference before bursting into tears.
Mauresmo, 30, topped the WTA rankings in September 2004 and clinched her two grand slam titles in 2006 when she won the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
She collected 25 WTA singles titles since turning professional in 1993.
Following her Antwerp Diamond Games victory in 2007, she took longer than expected to recover from an appendectomy and suffered a series of injuries.
Mauresmo spent two years in the wilderness and thought about quitting before storming back to claim the Paris Open title in February this year.
However, she failed to maintain the momentum, losing to Russian Dinara Safina in the fourth round at Wimbledon in a match completed under the Centre Court's new roof.
Mauresmo, who arguably had one of the finest backhands on the tour, had not played competitive tennis since losing to Canada's Aleksandra Wozniak in the second round of the US Open.
Bureau Report
First Published: Thursday, December 03, 2009, 17:29