Russia's Elena Dementieva communicates her retirement from tennis
Shortly after losing 6-4 and 6-2 to Italy's Francesca Schiavone at the Women's Tennis Association championship in Doha, Russia's Elena Dementieva announced her retirement from tennis in the most emotional of ways. In the words
of the professional herself, “This year in Doha was very special for me because it was my last tournament.”
Dementieva went on to thank all the players for the amazing experiences and all the years she spent on the court with them. Furthermore, she thanked all the people around the world for supporting her and her fan club. "I could
feel your support no matter where I was in the world. Thank you for your devotion," said Elena.
“Most importantly, thanks to my family, especially my mom. You’ve been very supportive, encouraging, inspiring. You were always there for me. It was a long way and we did it together. I love you mom." The Russian went on to add,
“It’s so emotional. It’s so hard to say goodbye to all of you. I’m going to miss you so much.”
Ending her profession as the World no. 9, Dementieva bagged 16 WTA titles apart from two Olympic medals in her career. Marking her highest ever ranking, the Russian took the World no. 3 spot in the year 2009. Additionally, Elena
made it to the 2004 U.S. Open and 2004 French Open women's singles final.
In the year 2008, Dementieva defeated compatriot, Dinara Safina in the finals of the Beijing Olympics. Seeded no. 6, Safina initiated the match with a 6-3 win; however, Elena responded with a 7-5 win in the second set and furthermore,
went on to take the deciding third set 6-3, to clinch her first ever and only Olympic Gold medal.
Furthermore, the Russian won a silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. The no. 2 seed, America's Venus Williams came out victorious in the final match, defeating Elena 6-2 and 6-4 to mark her straight set win.
In an all Russian final at the 2004 French Open, Anastasia Myskina thrashed Dementieva 6-1 and 6-2 in the final of the championship. Similarly, at the 2004 U.S. Open, Elena faced defeat at the hands of fellow country-woman, Svetlana
Kuznetsova as she took the final based upon her 6-3, 7-5, straight set win.
Conclusively, in spite of not having a single grand slam title to her name, apart from not being ranked no. 1 during her career, Dementieva is arguably one of the most talented professionals the WTA has had and will undoubtedly
be missed.
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