PARIS, France - Lucie Safarova said an emotional goodbye to professional tennis at the site of her biggest career achievement on Thursday.

The 32-year-old Czech was honored in a retirement ceremony on Court Philippe Chatrier at the French Open in between WTA singles matches, shortly following Serena Williams' victory and ahead of Anna Blinkova's stunning upset of Caroline Garcia.

Read more: Fan favorite Lucie Safarova retires from professional tennis

A two-time doubles winner in Paris who also reached the singles final in 2015, Safarova was presented with a gift on behalf of the French Tennis Federation and a video tribute was shown in her honor.

"This truly is the most favorite court on earth for me. So many special memories," a teary Safarova said.

"[The WTA] has been like a family these last 15 years. Thank you Paris, I love you."


Safarova won two of her five career doubles Grand Slams in Paris, alongside Bethanie Mattek-Sands in 2015 and 2017.

In addition, she finished runner-up in singles to Serena Williams in Paris in 2015, losing a thrilling three-setter, en route to reaching a career-high ranking of World No.5 later that year. 

The Czech boasted a 20-14 overall record in the main draw at the French Open in her career, the most singles wins she recorded at any of the four majors.