Jo Konta ‘grateful for wonderful career’ after Wimbledon semi-finalist and former world No 4 retires

Jo Konta has admitted that she had finally run out of energy to deal with the ‘stress and pain’ that comes with sustaining a career at the highest level of tennis.

The one-time world No 4 on Wednesday confirmed she was bringing the curtain down on a career that included three Grand Slam semi-finals and four WTA Tour titles.

Instead, she is concentrating on getting married this month to long-time partner Jackson Wade, leaving behind the only life she has known since early teenage years.

Jo Konta has announced her shock retirement from professional tennis at the age of 30

Konta’s biggest title came at the Miami Open in 2017

‘You’re putting yourself in that position where you’re welcoming pain, you’re welcoming pressure and stress,’ she said, referring to her career. 

‘It’s a pleasure to do that when you feel like you have the energy and then be able to play at your best. I would love to still play on the biggest stages in the world, it’s just that to be able to do that I don’t have the energy any more.’

Konta put down her retirement aged 30 to a variety of factors — and not to the knee issues that she has been forced to manage since the start of the pandemic.

‘I am getting married,’ she said. ‘I would definitely love to have a family.

‘I wouldn’t say this was specifically relating to me wanting to have a family immediately. It was more to do with how I was feeling.’ 

She last played at the Western & Southern Open in August, where she lost in the first round

See also  Wimbledon highs and lows: Nick Kyrgios versus Stefanos Tsitsipas was the best men's match

Describing herself as ‘grateful’ for the years on tour, she could rightly point to the fact that she exceeded expectations.

‘I’m a bit of a poster child for someone who carved out a career for themselves, when all evidence pointed that it was not going to happen,’ she added.

‘I don’t think I will be looking back on any one match with any kind of feelings other than joy, for the fact that I’ve actually had a wonderful career.’

Konta caught the British public’s eye with her dramatic run to the 2017 Wimbledon semi-finals

Konta is concentrating on getting married this month to long-time partner Jackson Wade