Wimbledon semi-finalist Pironkova returns, Larsson and King and Rybarikova stop
Tsvetana Pironkova , Wimbledon semi-finalist in 2010, has announced her comeback. Johanna Larsson , Vania King and Magdalena Rybarikova, on the other hand, want to stop.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Mar 15, 2020, 12:16 pm
Tsvetana Pironkova was on maternity leave for three years, now she wants to make a comeback.
Pironkova had celebrated her greatest success in 2010 when she - as a world ranking 81. - after a victory over Venus Williams had reached the Wimbledon semi-finals, where she lost to Vera Zvonareva. In 2017 she also played her last match on the Holy Lawn, then lost to Caroline Wozniacki. Her son was born in 2018. Your best position: 31st place in the WTA ranking. In 2014, she won her only WTA-level tournament in Sydney after qualifying after three top ten wins against Sara Errani, Petra Kvitova and Angelique Kerber.
However, Pironkova was always dangerous, especially on turf, with twelve wins over top 10 players.
Larsson, Rybarikova and King end their careers
However, three other WTA players have announced their retirement in the past few days. The Swedish Johanna Larsson, formerly number 45, announced her immediate end on the tour in February.
Slovakian Magdalena Rybarikova also stops - she actually wanted to end her career after the now canceled Fed Cup final in April. She had "one injury after another", hence the decision to put an end to it. Rybarikova was in the Wimbledon semifinals in 2017, including after victories over Karolina Pliskova and CoCo Vandeweghe. It remains to be seen whether the former number 17 in the world is still playing a final event. Most recently, it was used at the US Open in 2019, currently it is only 180th in the ranking.
The American Vania King has also announced her resignation. The former number 50 in the world in singles has only played in doubles in recent years, won in 2010 in Wimbledon and at the US Open and made 3rd place in the ranking. You probably haven't heard much from her anymore and many would probably have thought that she had already resigned, she joked on Instagram. Her injury is also to blame - the operated ankle has not improved anymore, she is no longer the player she used to be. The good thing: The time-out also showed her new priorities in life. With Yaroslava Shvedova - with whom she had won her two majors - King wanted to perform again in Charleston; It is currently unclear whether another Farewell tournament is planned after the cancellation.