Annie K retires.....

murray_2k9 · Challenger qualifying

RE: Annie K retires.....

insomniacfolder · Challenger level

I'm very sad to hear Annie finally confirm her retirement, though it had become an almost open secret.

A wonderful ambassador for, amongst other things:
British Tennis
The rewards of hard work and patience
Rising above the petty slights of those that would always seek to do you down
Treating the two impostors of triumph and disaster just the same.
The Laotian community
And last, but by no means least showing that growing up in a place like Hackney need not be any limit upon your personal potential or what you can achieve

A shining example, and I will miss her presence on court very dearly. It is good to know areday that she will be still involved in and arond the game at some level for the near future.

Thank you Anne. More than once you inspired me to be better than I thought I could be.

May your next destination, and the journey there, be equally as fruitful as your last.

InsomniacFolder

steven · Tennis legend

It did seem to be a fairly open secret that this was on the cards, though maybe she only made the final decision after Wimbledon.

I'm sorry to see her go - even if she has been on the slide, she remains one of our best players and we can do without losing too many of them. She tended not to get the credit she deserved because grass wasn't her strongest surface, but when you think that for 13 out of 14 years before 2008, we had nobody in the WTA singles top 100 and when Anne first ended successive years as GB no. 1, around WR 180 was enough to do it, you start to realise how much she and Bally did to make it seem possible for Brits to get into the top 100 and higher again.

Anyway, here's my little (ok, not quite so little!) list of some of her achievements over the year https://bitly.com/144Hfd1 - lots of stuff you'll see elsewhere, no doubt, but did you know which two GB Fed Cup records she holds and for which two she is currently 2nd only to Virginia Wade? Do you know what links the first three players she played in R2 matches at Wimbledon? (hmm, you probably do!) ... and I wonder if even Anne remembers which 50 countries outside the UK she has played pro events or ITF juniors in (yes, that one I had to do some research for! LOL) smile

insomniacfolder · Challenger level

Steven, your document is a wonderful tribute.
Thank you so much for the effort and dilligence it took to produce it.

Kind Regards,
InsomniacFolder

Jan · Hall of fame

insomniacfolder wrote:
Steven, your document is a wonderful tribute.
Thank you so much for the effort and dilligence it took to produce it.

Indeed - I couldn't have put it better myself. Thanks Steven.

Jaggy1876 · Grand Slam Champion

Your stats are excellent Steven she certainly achieved more than any other female bar Elena in the last decade.

BBC website comments 3/4 of them aren't the most positive however playIng devils advocate there are some valid points raised about coaching issues and having bottle when in mattered in big matches. I wonder if she really did maximise her ability?

The good news for British tennis is that arguably Heather and Laura have achieved more in their career than Anne and Bally already in about 20per cent of the time. The bad news is that after our top 5 we may be struggling again in years to come.

philwrig · Hall of fame

I had an inkling this was going to happen, and when her ranking wasn't going to allow her to play the US open qualies, another potential last target, I thought well the announcement about retirement is going to be imminent, but then there wasn't one so thought maybe its not going to happen after all.
Anne was on holiday with a few pals the last week or so and maybe during that period, she made her final decision. Obviously the job with BT sport may have also had an impact, who knows. The bottom line was though that she was unable to do herself justice anymore on the tennis court, and she had thought of retirement even before this current injury. Anyway enough of that.

It's a sad day, but what a career as so well summarised by Steven, a great character and personality, so different to Bally but equally important to British tennis over the last 12 years. I really hope she can give back to British tennis in terms of coaching etc., and be a huge success in the commentary box.

KK · Club Coach

What was cruel was her injury to her knee when she had just hit 48 in the world, which I think was at the start of the American hard court season when she could have gained lots of points and climbed even higher. She never got back to the top 50 after that.

briteny · Intermediate Club Player

There are quite a few 30 something players inside top 100 and many of them outside 100. I do hope she will try again if her injury recover later?!

Priesty · Challenger level

briteny wrote:

There are quite a few 30 something players inside top 100 and many of them outside 100. I do hope she will try again if her injury recover later?!

Well you never know, maybe in 8 years or so she might do a Date-Krumm... smile

WD40 · Club Coach

All I can say is Thank You Anne for the many years of enjoyable tennis and I hope you enjoy your retirement.