Professional athletes in most sports are good as their bodies and minds are. When a sportsman enters a field, they are very well aware of the risks of injury that come along with playing a high endurance sport and in fact a large part of their training is done to make sure they avoid as much injury as possible by getting better at their craft. However, in the pursuit of this perfection, one may overstrain their bodies which may lead to fatigue and injury.
Once in the field, the player has to give their best in a limited amount of time. They try to move faster than ever, run faster than ever, and perform in a way that presents the most optimum version of themselves. In such a high stakes environment, injuries are inevitable, sometimes ending entire sports careers.
When it comes to tennis, the case is no different. Tennis is as fiercely competitive as it is at times. Particularly for players who have had to deal with unwelcome and unfortunate injuries as well as other health issues. Many of these names, some of whom were at their height, have appeared throughout the history of the sport and have either been forced to retire early or, worse still, have been unable to return to the same level of greatness before suffering from injuries and ill health.
Here are some names in the world of tennis who had to give up their careers as a result of serious injuries:
- Lleyton Hewitt
Lleyton Hewitt, then 20 years old, broke the record for the youngest player to hold the top rank in 2001 after winning his first major tournament. The Australian had an excellent year in 2002, winning his second major at Wimbledon and finishing the year as the top-ranked player for the second year in a row. Since then, Hewitt has had nothing but bad luck, with frequent operations and injuries interrupting his career.
- Kim Clijsters
The WTA ranked Kim Clijsters No. 1 for the first time ever without her having claimed a grand slam victory. She accomplished this accomplishment in 2003, the same year that she won the women’s doubles division at both the French Open and Wimbledon, making her the No. 1 doubles player in the world. The Belgian tennis pro won the 2005 US Open, her first grand slam victory. As she continued to improve, Kim Clijsters won the 2006 Australian Open by defeating Martina Hingis in the quarterfinals before withdrawing from the competition due to an ankle injury.
- Martina Hingis
When Martina Hingis and Helena Sukova won the women’s doubles Wimbledon championship at the age of just 15 years and 9 months, they set a new record for the youngest Grand Slam champion. When she won the 1997 Australian Open at the age of just 16 years and 3 months, she also set a record for the 20th century’s youngest singles Grand Slam winner.
Hingis (winner of seven singles Grand Slam titles and nine doubles Grand Slam titles) made the decision to end her career at the age of 22 following a number of accidents and operations at the beginning of the twenty-first century.
- Justine Henin
When Justine Henin contributed to Belgium’s Federation Cup victory in 2001, she became well-known worldwide. She won the US Open and French Open in 2003, and in 2004 she also prevailed in the Australian Open. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, the Belgian won the women’s singles gold medal.
In 2008, she fractured her right kneecap and later withdrew from a competition, citing exhaustion as the cause. The tennis world was shocked when Henin, the then-World No. 1, abruptly announced her retirement just before the 2008 French Open.
- Bjorn Borg
At the age of 25, the Swedish player won five straight Wimbledon titles in addition to six French Open crowns.
The young wonder won the French Open in 1974 and maintained the title the following year, giving him his maiden grand slam at the age of just 18. The 1981 World No. 1 lost to John McEnroe in the Wimbledon and US Open finals following his sixth French Open victory. Borg was shocked by his loss in the 1981 US Open final and claimed it was the first time in his life that he didn’t feel sad.
Sources:
10 Reasons Why the Cookie Crumbled the Way It Did 