Former Top 20 star Magdalena Rybarikova has officially called it a career, revealing her decision on Instagram Thursday morning.
Rybarikova, aged 32, initially planned to bid farewell at the Billie Jean King Cup (formerly Fed Cup) Finals in Budapest, ultimately reversing course in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"As some of you may know, I haven’t been playing competitive tennis for over a year now," she wrote in the heartfelt post. "I was hoping to play the Fed Cup Finals in Budapest as last event of my career. Unfortunately the whole situation around COVID-19 has changed those plans. After carefully analyzing the various scenarios, I have decided to put an end to my professional tennis career."
The Slovak peaked at World No.17 on the WTA rankings shortly after her revelatory run to the 2017 Wimbledon Championship semifinals. Playing on a protected ranking, Rybarikova had a fortnight to remember, shocking No.3 seed Karolina Pliskova in a thrilling three-setter and easing past CoCo Vandeweghe in the quarterfinals to become the first from her country to reach the final four at SW19.
Partnering Adrea Petkovic, she reached the same round at Wimbledon in women's doubles back in 2014, won four WTA singles titles, and finished runner-up at two Premier-level tournaments - falling twice to Petra Kvitova, though she pushed her to three sets at the Nature Valley Classic final in 2018.
"After almost 15 years of many ups and some downs, I am incredibly grateful for everything this amazing sport has given me. Besides meeting lots of nice and interesting people all over the world, I experienced amazing emotions, starting by winning my first tournament as a small girl all the way to reaching the semifinal of Wimbledon in 2017. Even though there obviously were some tough moments with lots of injuries, uncertainties and sacrifices, I wouldn’t wanna miss a single second of his amazing journey."
In her last Grand Slam main draw appearance, she upset Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon before falling to rising American star Coco Gauff, who went on to reach the second week.
"I want to thank all the fans for supporting me in good and not so good times, encouraging me during matches and through the various media channels. They always helped me going the extra step when i thought I couldn’t do it anymore.
"I’m leaving with a big smile on my face and am very much looking forward to see what the next chapter of my life will hold."