Post by tall_one on Jan 22, 2005 19:08:15 GMT
Schett Says Goodbye to Tennis
January 20, 2005 from that wta website
© Getty Images
MELBOURNE, Australia - Barbara Schett said goodbye to tennis on Thursday at the Australian Open.
The 28-year-old from Austria, who announced in October that she would retire from professional competition following the Australian Open, fell to No.26 seed Daniela Hantuchova, 64 60, in the second round in Melbourne.
Schett will still be in Melbourne a little longer as she is taking part in the mixed doubles competition, but said her final singles match was definitely emotional when it got to match point.
"It was not very emotional until she had match point, then suddenly I had tears in my eyes," Schett said. "I was like, 'Oh, my God. Where does that come from now?'
"I knew that sooner or later I was going to realize, 'Okay, this is going to be my last...this is going to be the last point of my career. It's been what I've been doing for all my life. I just suddenly realized that and it was very emotional."
Schett has been a fixture in the women's game for more than a decade, reaching a career-high ranking of No.7 back in 1999, along with winning three singles titles and 10 doubles titles during her 14-year career.
Schett made her Sony Ericsson WTA Tour debut in 1991 as a wild card at Kitzbuhel. She won her first Tour singles title five years later at Palermo and would add titles at Maria Lankowitz in 1997 and her last Tour singles title came in 2000 at Klagenfurt.
She finished in the Top 50 for seven straight years from 1996 to 2002, including a year-end finish of No.8 in 1999.
Schett was a member of the Austrian Fed Cup team throughout her career, which included leading her nation to back-to-back semifinals in 2003 and 2004.
She decided to retire from professional tennis because she felt she wasn't making enough improvement with her game to continue and decided she wanted to play her final match at one of her favorite venues.
"It was a clear decision," said Schett on her retirement decision. "Even if I would have played really well here. I would have stayed with that decision. And I played Australia because it was my favorite tournament."
After she departs Melbourne for the final time as a player, Schett said she plans on taking some time off and evaluate what to do next.
"I'm still going to be involved in tennis is some kind of a way," Schett said. "Maybe like working a a tournament in Australia, in Linz, or maybe do some commentating. I'm going to see what options I have and what I'm interested in.
"But I'm definitely going to stay involved in tennis."
January 20, 2005 from that wta website
© Getty Images
MELBOURNE, Australia - Barbara Schett said goodbye to tennis on Thursday at the Australian Open.
The 28-year-old from Austria, who announced in October that she would retire from professional competition following the Australian Open, fell to No.26 seed Daniela Hantuchova, 64 60, in the second round in Melbourne.
Schett will still be in Melbourne a little longer as she is taking part in the mixed doubles competition, but said her final singles match was definitely emotional when it got to match point.
"It was not very emotional until she had match point, then suddenly I had tears in my eyes," Schett said. "I was like, 'Oh, my God. Where does that come from now?'
"I knew that sooner or later I was going to realize, 'Okay, this is going to be my last...this is going to be the last point of my career. It's been what I've been doing for all my life. I just suddenly realized that and it was very emotional."
Schett has been a fixture in the women's game for more than a decade, reaching a career-high ranking of No.7 back in 1999, along with winning three singles titles and 10 doubles titles during her 14-year career.
Schett made her Sony Ericsson WTA Tour debut in 1991 as a wild card at Kitzbuhel. She won her first Tour singles title five years later at Palermo and would add titles at Maria Lankowitz in 1997 and her last Tour singles title came in 2000 at Klagenfurt.
She finished in the Top 50 for seven straight years from 1996 to 2002, including a year-end finish of No.8 in 1999.
Schett was a member of the Austrian Fed Cup team throughout her career, which included leading her nation to back-to-back semifinals in 2003 and 2004.
She decided to retire from professional tennis because she felt she wasn't making enough improvement with her game to continue and decided she wanted to play her final match at one of her favorite venues.
"It was a clear decision," said Schett on her retirement decision. "Even if I would have played really well here. I would have stayed with that decision. And I played Australia because it was my favorite tournament."
After she departs Melbourne for the final time as a player, Schett said she plans on taking some time off and evaluate what to do next.
"I'm still going to be involved in tennis is some kind of a way," Schett said. "Maybe like working a a tournament in Australia, in Linz, or maybe do some commentating. I'm going to see what options I have and what I'm interested in.
"But I'm definitely going to stay involved in tennis."
