THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS – After a 10-year winning streak in wheelchair tennis, Esther Vergeer felt she had nothing left to prove.
The 31-year-old Dutchwoman retired Tuesday, ending one of the most amazing careers in any sport.
“I’m hugely proud of my performances, my titles, and can look back on my career with a great feeling,” Vergeer said at the ABN AMRO tournament in Rotterdam. “Keeping going would not add anything.”
Vergeer won the women’s singles gold at four straight Paralympics starting in Sydney in 2000 and ending in London last year. She also won 21 Grand Slam singles titles, 23 Grand Slam doubles titles, three Paralympic doubles gold medals and a silver. Overall, she won 148 singles titles and 136 in doubles.
Vergeer took a break from the sport last year to consider the future after her Paralympic gold medal took her remarkable winning streak to 470 matches. In all those matches, she only faced one match point, in the final of the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.