Esther Vergeer did not simply go out on top. She went out after a decade of soaring out of other players’ reach.
Vergeer, a Dutch wheelchair tennis juggernaut, announced her retirement at 31 on Tuesday in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
She retires with an active win streak in singles of 470 matches, her last loss coming a little more than 10 years ago, in January 2003. Vergeer lost only 18 sets during the streak, and she won more than a third of her sets by the score of 6-0. She had 95 6-0, 6-0 victories in her career.
“I’m hugely proud of my performances, my titles and can look back on my career with a great feeling,” Vergeer said. “Keeping going would not add anything.”
Her final tournament was the London Paralympics in September. She captured the gold medal with typical ease, winning 7 of 12 sets in the singles competition by the score of 6-0. It was her fourth Paralympic gold medal in singles, to go along with her 21 Grand Slam singles titles. Although she was not as dominant when sharing the court with a partner, Vergeer also found success in doubles, winning 3 Paralympic gold medals and 23 Grand Slam titles.
Vergeer became paraplegic after spinal surgery at 8. Her first forays into wheelchair sports were in basketball, but she picked up tennis at 12 and decided to focus on it in 1998. By 1999, Vergeer had reached the No. 1 ranking.
Vergeer spent 668 weeks at No. 1, including every week from Oc
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/13/sports/wheelchair-tennis-champion-esther-vergeer-retires.html?_r=0
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