Liguori: Flavia Pennetta Wins US Open, Retires From Tennis On The Spot
By Ann Liguori
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If you're a professional athlete and you're going to say goodbye to the game you've played your entire life, why not leave at the height of your career? Well, that's exactly what Flavia Pennetta did today, immediately after capturing her first Grand Slam title, a 7-6 6-2 winner over fellow-Italian Roberta Vinci in the U.S. Open women's final. The 33-year old announced her retirement!
After accepting her trophy and the winner's check for $3.3 million, and thanking the sponsors and the audience, Pennetta said she had one more thing to say, "This one is my last match, my US Open, but I can't think of a better way (to go out)." The announcement seemed to be a surprise to most, and perhaps even to her coaches.
And in her post-match press conference, she said she would play until the end of the year but that this would be her final U.S. Open.
If Italians have a flare for drama, this was it. While runner-up Vinci was playfully grabbing her buddy's trophy and check during the award's presentation, and showing off her fun personality as she did in her post-match interview after Vinci knocked Serena Williams out of the championship the day before, Pennetta said she had decided a month ago that the U.S. Open would be her last tournament! But she never figured she would be hoisting the winner's trophy and making the announcement then!
Never mind that her ranking improved greatly from number 26 in the world with the win. And that at 33 years of age, she looked as strong and fit as could be. And that she loves playing at the U.S. Open where she had been a semifinalist twice and a quarterfinalist four times and now a U.S. Open champion.
But prior to her win over Petra Kvitova on Wednesday, she had lost five of her six Grand Slam quarter final matches. She had undergone wrist surgery in 2012, dropped out of the top 50 and was close to retiring then.
In explaining her decision to retire after the match, Pennetta said, "Because sometimes it's getting hard for me to compete. This is the important point. When you are in the court, when you have to play 24 weeks in the year, you have to fight every week.
And if you don't fight every week in the same way I did today, it's gonna be like bad. For me, also. And I don't feel to have this power anymore sometimes.
So this is the perfect moment, I think. Was a really hard decision to make, but I'm really happy that I did it. I'm really happy and proud of myself."
Pennetta is engaged to Fabio Fognini who ousted Rafael Nadal in the third round and then lost to Feliciano Lopez of Spain in the Round of 16.
Pennetta knows this is the pinnacle of her career and what could be better for her than winning this most improbable U.S. Open title? And to do it against her long-time friend and competitor from Puglia and French Open Junior Champion partner?
As Vinci said after ousting Serena, "Every so often, a miracle happens."
It was a miracle run for Pennetta as well. And a great way to end a career!
