Former Roland Garros finalist Lucie Šafářová will no longer continue at the ITF tournament in Reims. Although she announced in advance that it was a one-time event and that she was not planning to resume her career, the ITF evaluated her start as an “official return to professional tennis”, which needs to be reported in advance.
The 36-year-old mother of two defeated France’s Yaroslava Bartashevich 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 in her first competitive match after retiring in 2019 on Tuesday. She also wanted to play with her niece in Reims. However, she did not participate in the evening doubles alongside Emma Dvořáčková, the daughter of her older sister Veronika.
The former fifth-ranked player in the world and number one in doubles also signed up for the singles match due to the fact that in two weeks in Luxembourg, a heavily booked veteran tournament awaits her. In Reims, where she won a wild card, she wanted to play.
“Sometimes you plan something, but it turns out differently. Unfortunately, I cannot continue at the tournament in France, because my start was qualified as a return to professional tennis and I did not fulfill the proper process required by the ITF before the start of the tournament. Unfortunately, that’s what I’m talking about she didn’t know, but I respect the given rules,” she said.
Šafářová, a native of Brno, last played a singles match on the WTA Tour in September 2018 in Quebec, where she lost to the current world number seven Uns Džábirová from Tunisia. She concluded her successful career in doubles at the French Open in 2019. After that, she devoted herself to maternal duties, among other things, she has a daughter and a son with hockey player Tomáš Plekanec.
On the elite circuit, Šafářová won seven titles in singles and fifteen in doubles, including five Grand Slams. In 2015, she advanced to the finals of Roland Garros, where she lost to Serena Williams, the year before she was defeated by Petra Kvitová in the semifinals of Wimbledon. She won the Fed Cup five times and won an Olympic bronze medal in doubles in Rio de Janeiro.
2023-10-04 13:11:25
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