| The WTA paid tribute to Great Britain’s Johanna Konta who has announced her retirement from the Tour after a 16-year professional career that saw her usher in a new era for British women’s tennis. Konta made her WTA Tour debut as a 19-year-old at the Danish Open in 2010, and steps away from the sport having won four Tour singles titles from nine finals, amass almost 400 match wins during her career and break into the Top 5 in the WTA Rankings. She rose to prominence in 2016 as a semifinalist at the Australian Open, becoming the first British woman to reach the last four at a Grand Slam in 33 years. Later that season Konta won the first of her WTA singles titles by defeating Venus Williams in the final at Stanford, while also that year she reached the quarterfinals at the Rio Olympic Games, made the final at the China Open in Beijing and duly broke into the Top 10 for the first time. Konta backed up her breakout season with another standout year in 2017, winning the Sydney International (in the city of her birth) followed by the Miami Open presented by Itaú, which would prove to be the biggest title of her career. She also advanced to the semifinals at her home Grand Slam at The Championships, Wimbledon, which sent her to a career-high ranking of No.4 in July of that year. The last event Konta played in Great Britain proved to be a fitting farewell to her home fans as she won her fourth and final title at the Viking Open Nottingham in June 2021, having finished as the runner-up there twice previously. Voted WTA Most Improved Player of the Year in 2016, Konta also gave back to the sport through her five-year tenure on the WTA Players’ Council, whose service became unprecedented during the 2020 season as the Tour navigated its way through the pandemic. Steve Simon, WTA Chairman and CEO, commented: “Johanna’s accomplished tennis career has thrilled fans in Britain and around the world. Both on and off the court, she embodied the highest levels of professionalism and leadership, which has been demonstrated through both her outstanding results and commitment to our sport as a vital member of the WTA Players’ Council. We wish her nothing but great happiness and success as she embarks on what I am sure will be a very exciting next chapter of her life.” Konta retires leaving a strong legacy within British tennis, having achieved a string of milestone results during her career: Her semifinal run at the 2016 Australian Open made her the first British woman to reach the last four in Melbourne since Sue Barker in December 1977, and at any Grand Slam since Jo Durie at the 1983 US OpenBy reaching the Top 10 in October 2016, Konta became the first British woman to feature in the elite ranking group since Jo Durie in 1984, and is only the fourth British woman overall to do so (along with Virginia Wade and Sue Barker)Her defeat of Angelique Kerber at 2017 Eastbourne made Konta the first British woman to defeat the reigning World No.1 since Sue Barker’s defeat of Chris Evert at 1979 BostonIn 2017 Konta became the first British woman to advance to semifinals at Wimbledon since Virginia Wade in 1978Building a 20-10 overall record in Billie Jean King Cup play, in 2019 Konta helped Great Britain secure promotion to the competition’s World Group II for the first time in 26 years |
Konta most recently competed at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, where her final match came against Karolina Muchova in the first round. She steps away from the court with a career win-loss record of 395-243 and prize money of $10,008,175.
Click here for an exclusive interview on Konta’s decision to retire with the WTA Insider.
