Roland Garros finalist Safarova set to retire

PRAGUE, Czech Republic: Czech former world number five Lucie Safarova, a French Open runner-up in 2015, said Saturday she will retire after January’s Australian Open.

The 31-year-old has struggled with illness after coming down with a bacterial infection three years ago, just months after her run to the Roland Garros final.

She said the stress of constant travel was taking a toll on her and that she preferred to bow out on her own terms.

“The time has come, I wanted to do it the right way, I still like tennis and will miss it,” she told reporters at the Fed Cup final between the Czech Republic and the United States.

The left-hander, currently ranked 106th, has won seven individual titles and a further 15 in doubles.

She claimed five Grand Slam doubles triumphs alongside American Bethanie Mattek-Sands — winning both the Australian Open and French Open in 2015 and 2017, and lifting the US Open crown in 2016. She also won the Fed Cup on four occasions.