A pair of WTA Top 100 players, Julia Boserup of the United States and Arantxa Parra Santonja of Spain, have announced that they are retiring from professional tennis this week.

Boserup, aged 27, is a Danish-American player who turned pro in 2010, two years after winning the Orange Bowl, a prestigious Junior tennis event.

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She reached a career high ranking of World No.80 in June 2017, after building on a breakthrough 2016 that saw her reach the semifinals of Quebec City and third round of Wimbledon.

But injury seemed to always follow Boserup’s biggest successes, and on Monday the American announced that she’s hanging up her tennis racquets for good.

Julia Boserup in action at Wimbledon in 2016. (Getty Images)

“As injury brings my tennis career to a close, I am excited to share the beginning of my next chapter,” Boserup told fans on social media. She announced that she’s set to start grad school at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, after having earned her Bachelors in psychology from Penn State in 2016.

“I’m excited for what’s ahead,” Boserup added. “Thank you to everyone who played a role in my journey through tennis, and helped make my dreams a reality. The memories are forever in my heart.”

In addition to her on-court results, Boserup advocated for her fellow players as a member of WTA Player Council, a position she’s held since being elected in 2017.

Read Boserup’s full retirement message here:


Also waving goodbye to the sport, Spanish doubles specialist Parra Santonja has officially retired after losing in the first round of doubles with partner Aliona Bolsova at the Mutua Madrid Open on Monday.

Into the tournament as wildcards, Parra Santonja and Bolsova took a set off of Romanian duo Irina Bara and Mihaela Buzarnescu, but fell 3-6, 6-4, 10-5. After the match, Parra Santonja was sent off with a beautiful on court ceremony in front of the Spanish crowd. 


The 36-year-old Spaniard turned pro in 2000, and achieved a career high ranking of World No.46 in singles and No.22 in doubles. While she reached two WTA finals in singles - at Acapulco in 2011 and Oeiras in 2010 - she was a force on the doubles circuit, where she lifted 11 trophies and reached 16 finals.

After stepping away from singles in 2014, Parra Santonja continued her doubles success while partnered with fellow Spaniard Anabel Garrigues Medina, with whom she won four titles: Antwerp in 2015 and  Acapulco, Monterrey and Strasbourg in 2016.

Memorably, she partnered with Garrigues Medina during last year’s US Open when the latter announced her retirement. On Monday, Garrigues Medina was one of the players on court during the ceremony in Madrid honoring her former doubles teammate.


Parra Santonja has previously spoken about her post-tennis plans, specifically of her dream to start a ‘tennis travel agency’ to help fellow players book their travels. It’s a role she’s already taken on in her position as coordinator for Spain’s Fed Cup and Davis Cup squads.

“I like to be 100% involved in everything I do, so I decided to get involved with trips, hotels, travel and other necessities,” Parra Santonja told MARCA in 2017. “I have to prove my merit for the Federation to continue to count on me.

“I am very excited about this new stage. It is a position that allows me to continue to be linked to tennis and in which I will be helping those who have been my teammates. The main thing is to coordinate the needs of the players and coaching staff when we are outside Spain.”