WIMBLEDON, England — The final participant Serena Williams beat earlier than retiring final yr has now referred to as it quits on her personal profession after a second-round loss at Wimbledon on Thursday.

Anett Kontaveit, a 27-year-old Estonian who has been fighting a persistent again difficulty, misplaced to Thirty second-seeded Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-2 on the All England Club.

“Just a lot of emotions. There’s sadness, there’s happiness,” Kontaveit mentioned. “There’s a bit of everything.”

Kontaveit was ranked No. 2 on the earth final yr and was seeded second on the U.S. Open. But she misplaced to Williams within the second spherical, a match that ended up being the American nice’s last victory in a profession that noticed her win 23 Grand Slam singles titles.

Kontaveit has received six titles in her profession, together with 4 in 2021. At main tournaments, her greatest consequence was reaching the quarterfinals on the Australian Open in 2020.

After the match, Kontaveit famous her resolution was last, however did level out that it was her final match “in singles.”

“I’m pretty firm with this decision,” she mentioned. “When I stand up for too long or sit down for too long in the same position, it starts bothering me.”

Williams went on to lose to Ajla Tomljanović in her last match.

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