vinci-retires-from-tennis

Rome: Italy’s Roberta Vinci played Monday her last professional tennis match at age 35, losing to Aleksandra Krunic of Serbia in the first round of the Italian Open tennis tournament here. She had earlier announced that this would be the last event of her professional career. “I’m crying now but I’m happy, I’m happy for what I’ve accomplished,” Vinci told the crowd. “I would have liked to do better but it doesn’t matter that I lost.” In a career, lasting close to 16 years, Vinci won five doubles Grand Slam titles with countrymate Sara Errani. She also won 10 WTA titles, but her greatest achievement was reaching the final at the US Open before losing to fellow Italian Flavia Pennetta in 2015.