Jana Nejedly retires

Sorry if this has already been posted, but I can't see a thread on it!

From Tennis Canada:

"Tuesday, October 07, 2003

Fed Cup star Jana Nejedly hangs up racquet

Canadian announces retirement from tennis circuit

TORONTO (TC) – Jana Nejedly of Boston, MA has retired from the professional tour, Tennis Canada announced today. The 29-year-old hangs up her racquet after spending twelve years on the pro tour.

“I've been thinking about retirement seriously since the start of the year,” said Nejedly, who was born in Prague, but grew up in Vancouver. “I'm 29 now and twelve years on the tour takes its toll. The competition and depth is so strong now and I just wasn't willing to put in the work necessary to compete at the level I thought I was capable of. The schedule is gruelling and I started feeling it mentally and physically. I just knew it was time.”

Nejedly enjoyed a very successful career during which she reached the third round of two Grand Slam events – the 1999 Australian Open and the 2001 US Open – and has posted wins over Sandrine Testud, Chanda Rubin and Barbara Schett. She reached a career high ranking of 64th on the WTA Tour in October of 2000 and was recognized as Canada’s Female Player of the Year in 2001.

Nejedly also set an impressive Canadian record for most singles wins in Fed Cup action with 19. A member of the Canadian Fed Cup team since 1994, Nejedly also represented Canada at the 1996 Olympic Games. She claims there is no bigger honour than playing for her country and names her time with the National team as the highlight of her career.

“Jana has been a tremendous role model for many youngsters and loved to play for her country,” said Hatem McDadi, Tennis Canada’s Director of Player Development. “Jana will always be remembered for her clutch play and kind personality - a true professional on and off the court. We will miss her calm presence and leadership, but are happy to have her involved with the future of Canadian tennis. ”

Nejedly has already started coaching at a tennis club in Boston and will join Tennis Canada’s junior team as a touring coach in Florida at the end of the year. She plans on getting into high performance coaching where she can apply her experience to help other aspiring tennis players realize their dreams.

Currently third in the country at No.174 on the WTA Tour rankings, Nejedly closes out her career after a successful season during which she picked up three ITF Circuit titles to bring her career total to eight. She was also a semifinalist at one other ITF event this year.

“I'll miss competing, but in the end I just wasn't enjoying all the things that went along with it,” said Nejedly. “I've been fortunate to have played tennis for a living and I have no regrets. I've seen the world and met some wonderful people and I have tennis to thank for that. I would do it all again.”