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American tennis player Kristie Ahn has announced she is retiring at the age of 29. Ahn, ranked at No. 298 in the world, hasn't played since the US Open, where she was beaten in the qualifying first round. Ahn admitted she badly wanted to make the US Open main draw and say a proper goodbye to tennis but added that "not everybody gets an Andre Agassi farewell." "Uh oh, a notes post - you know that means," Ahn started her Instagram post.
"It is probably one of the most polarizing feelings to announce that I'm stepping away from the court. (Was that phrased weird? IDK, retired feels weird to say). This chapter (turned volume) of my life that has had the twists and turns reminiscent of a kdrama has finally (come) to an end lol.
"Honestly, I'm still so devastated that my last match was at the US Open not playing in front of you guys - I really wanted to qualify to have one last chance to say 'thank you' and 'goodbye' properly - but I've come to terms with the fact that not everybody gets an Agassi farewell, and seeing others with infinitely more illustrious careers than mine step away graciously has given me the courage to follow suit.
So, regardless if you started following me from my run in 2019, my TikTok vids during quarantine, my time at Stanford, or in 2008 (you an OG lol) where it all really began, I just wanna say thanks - for your support, for your kinds words, and for your love."
Ahn wanted to prove Asian-American can succeed in sports
Ahn enjoyed the best season of her career in 2019, when she made her maiden Grand Slam round-of-16 at the US Open.
The same year, Ahn achieved a career-high ranking of No. 87 in the world. Ahn had a down year last season as she won a total of six matches in 2021. "I'll spare you the corniness of all the life lessons tennis has taught me - but I will share this: I've always dreamed of being able to make an impact on the Asian-American community the same way that the greats have impacted me.
I remember watching and cheering for Michael Chang and Michelle Kwan as they worked to dismantle (whether they knew it or not) the stereotype of Asian-Americans only being good at school or music - that we didn't belong in sports," Ahn added.
Kristie Ahn, who hasn’t played since 2021 US Open, announces her retirement from tennis.
Loved chatting to Kristie about pretty much anything & will never forget how generous she was w her time to talk Player Council stuff during the pandemic.A real one who’ll b missed on tour pic.twitter.com/II3qehqAlV — Reem Abulleil (@ReemAbulleil) March 4, 2022