Petra Kvitova scooped up on farewell day

A bitter end to a career for an athlete who left her mark on the tennis world and was a two-time Wimbledon winner (2011 and 2014).

Former world No. 2 Petra Kvitova, now ranked 543rd in the WTA rankings, said goodbye to tennis on Monday in the first round of the US Open in front of half-empty stands and with a loss in just 52 minutes. Not exactly the stage one would have expected for a champion of her caliber.

Diane Parry, number 107 in the world, had no great regard for her colleague: the 22-year-old Frenchwoman won decisively in two sets (6-1, 6-0).

After nineteen years on the professional circuit, Petra ends her career with a total of 31 titles-including the WTA Finals (2011), six Billie Jean King Cups, and an Olympic bronze medal in Rio (2016). In late 2016 she had been the victim of a horrific attack by an intruder in her home. She had had to undergo surgery on her left hand, and doctors gave her only a 10 percent chance of returning to play-she instead not only returned but also reached the final of the 2019 Australian Open.