Former world number one Ana Ivanovic has retired from professional tennis, aged 29.
The Serbian, who won the French Open in 2008, has struggled with injury problems in 2016, winning only 15 matches, and did not play on the WTA Tour after the US Open in August.
She said in a live announcement on her official Facebook page on Wednesday evening: "I have some big news I want to share with you. I have not announced it anywhere else because I think you deserve to hear it first. So what is it? Well, there is no other way to say it - I have decided to retire from professional tennis."
After suffering a fifth straight loss in the opening round of the US Open in August, Ivanovic insisted she was not thinking of retiring, but subsequently announced she was calling time on her 2016 season in a bid to allow wrist and toe injuries to fully heal.
Ivanovic had posted pictures of herself back in training in December and was one of the highest-profile players to compete in this year's International Premier Tennis League in Asia.
However, the Serbian had earlier this week fuelled speculation over her future by a cryptic message posted on Twitter, in which she said: "My dear fans & supporters. Pls tune in to my Facebook page tomorrow at 6pm UK time, where I'll be sharing something important with you live.''
Ivanovic, who married Manchester United midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger during the summer, was due to begin the new season at the ASB Classic in Auckland, starting on January 2, and was also on the entry list for the Australian Open.
Following her Facebook video, the 29-year-old also issued a written statement via her official Twitter account, which read: "This has been a tough decision, but there is so much to celebrate.
"My dear parents backed me all the way and by the time I was ranked #1 in the world in 2008, I'd seen highs I'd never dreamed of.
"But seeing those 'highs' in any professional sport demands top physical form, and it is well known that I have been hampered by injuries.
"For myself, for my fans, for all the young girls and boys who might be watching me... I can only play if I can perform up to my own high standards, and I can no longer to that. It is time to move on."
Ivanovic added she would not be "disappearing completely from the (WTA Tour) circuit" and was "excited about the new challenges and the new path ahead of me".
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here