Corina Morariu Hangs Up Racquet, Retires from Pro Tennis
Posted by Aaress Lawless on Sep 19, 2007 | Print |
Corina Morariu has retired from professional tennis, ending a stellar career which included two Grand Slam doubles titles and an inspirational comeback from leukemia.
Morariu, who competed in her first Tour match eleven years ago in 1996, played her final match in the quarterfinals of the 2007 US Open with Meghann Shaughnessy.
In 2001, only one season after ascending to the No. 1 doubles ranking, Morariu was diagnosed with leukemia. She underwent chemotherapy, and in one of the most amazing comebacks in WTA Tour history, rejoined the Tour a year later.
Three years later, Morariu and her best friend Lindsay Davenport reached the final of the 2005 Australian Open before losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova and Alicia Molik 6-3, 6-4.
Although she won one singles and thirteen doubles titles in her career, Morariu considers as her greatest triumph her comeback to the Tour in 2002.
“A year before, I had no hair and no strength and didn’t know how the story was going to end,” said Morariu in the WTA Tour’s announcement of her retirement.
“But making it back is by far my greatest achievement. Fighting leukemia and coming back to play professionally was my proudest moment.”
Morariu may be off the Tour as a competitor, but fans can take heart that she still plans to be involved with the game.
“There are opportunities in the tennis world outside of playing tennis,” added Morariu.
“I’d like to get involved in the business side of tennis, maybe television too. Playing it for so many years has allowed me to forge relationships with lots of people. The sport has afforded me the luxury of making some very interesting connections.”
You can read more about Morariu’s career at the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour website.
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