Former top-ranked doubles player Barbora Strycova retires

Barbora Strycova, a former top-ranked doubles player and Wimbledon singles semifinalist, has announced her retirement.
“Until now, tennis was the only world I knew,” Strycova said in a statement on Tuesday.
“I have always had enormous love for this amazing sport. Even though all the pain, tears, renunciation and sweat, all the great moment(s) and victories were worth it.”
The 35-year-old Czech player previously announced her pregnancy. She is due in September and doesn’t plan to return after giving birth.
“I never planned to end my career during a pandemic,” she said. “However, some moments in life just can’t be planned and I am super excited for my next life role as a mom.”
Strycova won two WTA singles titles and 31 in doubles.
She was at her best at Wimbledon in 2019, when she won the women’s doubles with Hsieh Su-wei to become No. 1 and reached the singles semifinals, losing to Serena Williams. Her career-high in singles was No. 16.
In 2016, she teamed up with Lucie Safarova to win the bronze medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.