Anett Kontaveit, once ranked as high as number two, has suddenly announced that she will retire this year. If you have been following tennis, you may have been wondering what was going on with Kontaveit. I was wondering had she lost her enthusiasm for the sport because she just seemed to have lost her focus. Fast forward and we have our answer, the Estonian has been battling a painful back.
Back Injury Forcing Anett Kontaveit To Early Retirement
Injury for an athlete is always undesired. There is no injury that any athlete likes. However, when your whole body is affected, that can really hamper you. The back is our foundation, which gives us our mobility and strength. If your back is compromised, there is no way you can compete effectively in any sport. No matter how determined you are, pain will interfere with your performance.
Wimbledon Is Last Tournament For Kontaveit
At twenty-seven, Kontaveit has played in sixteen singles finals and won six and she was just beginning to play consistent quality tennis. This is so unfortunate for Kontaveit, who will retire after Wimbledon 2023 because of a diagnosis of “lumbar disc degeneration.” This has been bothering her since 2022 and has made it difficult for her to train properly. I can only pray for her and wish her well. It is not what any athlete wants; however, I hope with physical therapy she will stabilize and avoid or significantly delay the need for surgery.
Embed from Getty ImagesTop 100 ATP & WTA Ranking Changes
| ATP | RANKING CHANGES | CURRENT RANK |
| Jason Kubler (AUT) | UP 23 | 74 |
| Alexander Bublik (KAZ) | UP 22 | 26 CAREER HIGH |
| Alexandre Muller (FRA) | UP 21 | 82 CAREER HIGH |
| Jack Draper (GBR) | DOWN 19 | 75 |
| Benjamin Bonzi (FRA) | DOWN 15 | 93 |
| Maxime Cressy (USA) | DOWN 13 | 55 |
| Sebastian Ofner (AUT) | UP 12 | 69 CAREER HIGH |
| WTA | RANKING CHANGES | CURRENT RANK |
| Camila Giorgi (ITA) | DOWN 19 | 67 |
| Viktoriya Tomova (BUL) | DOWN 19 | 99 |
| Elina Avanesyan (RUS) | UP 17 | 64 CAREER HIGH |
| Bianca Andreescu (CAN) | DOWN 16 | 51 |
| Alize Cornet (FRA) | DOWN 14 | 74 |
| Marketa Vondrousova (CZE) | UP 13 | 40 |
| Katie Boulter (GBR) | DOWN 11 | 88 |
| Simona Halep (ROU) | DOWN 10 | 50 |
| Lesia Tsurenko (UKR) | DOWN 10 | 56 |
ATP & WTA Top 10 Ranking Changes
ATP: there were a few positional changes. Alcaraz and Djokovic traded places again. Jannik Sinner and Taylor Fritz also trades places to #8 and #9, respectively. The current top four players are: [1] Carlos Alcaraz; [2] Novak Djokovic; [3] Daniil Medvedev; and [4] Casper Ruud.
WTA: there were a few changes. Barbora Krejcikova is back in the top ten at #10. Pegula and Caroline Garcia traded places to #4 and #5, respectively. Beatriz Haddad Maia fell out of the top ten. The current top four players are: [1] Iga Swiatek; [2] Aryna Sabalenka; [3] Elena Rybakina; and [4] Jessica Pegula.
SOURCE OF IMAGES: Getty Images
