Tennis star Shahar Pe'er announced her retirement on Facebook on Wednesday, marking an end to one of the greatest careers in Israeli sports history. The 29-year-old wrote: "I want to share with you one of the most difficult decisions I've ever had to make. After 23 years of playing, 13 of them as a professional on the international circuit, I am retiring." She was leaving the sport, she told her fans, due to "chronic shoulder inflammation, which has persisted for over two years and prevents me from competing at the high levels I expect of myself." Pe'er thanked her supporters in Israel and abroad. At her peak, Pe'er reached the highest ranking ever for an Israeli tennis player, 11th in the world. In 2007, she became the first Israeli woman to reach the quarter finals of a singles grand slam tournament, first at the Australian Open and then at the U.S. Open. At the Australian Open in 2008, Pe'er and Victoria Azarenka of Belarus reached the doubles finals together. Pe'er was Israeli champion in 2001, 2003, 2006-2010, and in 2012. She is estimated to have earned some $5 million in prize money during her playing career. In 2014, Pe'er was honored by being chosen as a torch-lighter for the country's official 66th Independence Day Ceremony in Jerusalem.
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Israeli tennis star Shahar Pe'er announces retirement
Marking end of illustrious career, Pe'er cites "chronic shoulder inflammation, which has persisted for over two years and prevents me from competing at the high levels I expect of myself" • Pe'er is estimated to have earned some $5 million in prize money.
