Date to quit game at 46

TOKYO, Aug 28, (AFP): Japan’s Kimiko Date, the grand dame of women’s tennis, announced Monday that she will retire from the game a few days short of her 47th birthday.

The former world number four said on her official blog that she will add the “full stop” to her career by retiring — for a second time — after the Japan Women’s Open tournament, which begins in Tokyo on Sept 11.

“I have always been obsessed with competing,” said Date, who took a 12-year hiatus from professional tennis after quitting at the peak of her powers in 1996. “But increasingly I’ve found myself adjusting the length and intensity of training to look after my physical condition.

“It has not been an easy decision to sever the feeling that I want to get back on court and run around like I used to,” added the eight-time WTA Tour singles champion and former Wimbledon semi-finalist. “But it is time to put the punctuation point on my tennis career.”

Date, a wiry 5ft 4in (1.63 metres), underwent two knee surgeries since appearing at the 2016 Australian Open, but defied the odds to return to action in May this year.

The Kyoto native admitted she was still nursing a sore knee and shoulder.

“All my energy is focused on the Japan Open,” she said. “I hope many of those who have supported me down the years can come out to watch and have that image to remember me by.”

Date, whose game is a throwback to a time when tennis was more about lobs, dinks and clever use of spin than power-hitting, broke several records in the sport.