Inactive for the past two years because of injury, Taiwanese tennis veteran Latisha Chan (詹詠然) today announced her retirement and is to be honored at a ceremony at the Australian Open on Saturday.
In a statement, the 36-year-old Chan, once considered one of Taiwan's most promising young tennis stars, said she had no regrets about her tennis career, calling herself "very lucky" to achieve what she did despite her physical limitations.
Photo: CNA
She was likely referring to her diagnosis of postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS) in 2014, which led her to shift her focus from singles to doubles competition, Radio Taiwan International reported.
During her career, Chan won one women's doubles grand slam title, the 2017 US Open paired with Martina Hingis, and three Grand Slam mixed doubles titles at French Open in 2018 and 2019 and Wimbledon in 2019.
She also competed in four Olympic Games and won five gold, three silver and one bronze medal in five Asian Game appearances.
Her last full season was in 2023, when she and sister Chan Hao-ching (詹皓晴) reached the final of a WTA 1000 event in Dubai and the quarter-finals of the French Open.
She did come back to play in the Olympic tennis tournament in Paris in late July 2024 with her sister, but lost in the first round to a powerful Czech duo.
Chan continued to train over the past two years to try to return to the court, but her inability to deal with her POTS at its root and the intensity needed to keep fit made it clear to her that "it was time" to call it a career that began professionally in 2004, she said.
As she bids farewell to the court, Chan has already begun preparing for the next chapter of her career, including obtaining a Level A coaching certificate from the Chinese Taipei Tennis Association.
When Chan is honored at the retirement ceremony at the Australian Open, she is to be the first player from Taiwan to receive such recognition at a Grand Slam tournament.
Chan said Australian Open chief executive officer Craig Tiley suggested the retirement ceremony last year after learning about her retirement plans, and she accepted.
Chan said it would be especially meaningful, as she believes the launching point of her career was winning the 2004 Australian Open Junior Championships women's doubles title.
Chan, who began playing tennis at age six, won a total of 32 Women's Tennis Association women's doubles titles and reached the world No. 1 ranking in women's doubles in 2017 during a magical year partnered with Hingis, when the duo won eight doubles titles.
Her highest singles ranking was No. 50.
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