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Post by DBBN on Aug 14, 2013 22:09:05 GMT -5
Bye.
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Post by R. Black on Aug 14, 2013 22:52:10 GMT -5
LOL.
Wise decision. She knows her career would soon enough take the ASV path, so the more she would lose, the more people would point out how her Wimbledon win was a fluke. So better leave now.
Bye.
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Post by Grarliner on Aug 14, 2013 23:07:32 GMT -5
Only she would do this.
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Post by DBBN on Aug 14, 2013 23:12:47 GMT -5
Sad because it underscores how old I am. Again.
I have mixed emotions about the whole thing because it feels like the Henin Retirement #1. Like, things are getting tough (different kind of toughness but still) and instead of giving it more of a go, Done. Well...OK.
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Post by Grarliner on Aug 14, 2013 23:22:31 GMT -5
I just can't believe she doesn't want to see what can happen now, right after the zenith of her professional career.
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Post by Traveling Man on Aug 14, 2013 23:59:52 GMT -5
This is insane. I'd have imagined she'd want to experience and enjoy her year as a reigning Slam champ. Play in France as reigning Wimbledon champ, open play on Center Court on Tuesday, etc. But it's also so CAKE. I'll miss her.  |
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Post by The Chloe on Aug 15, 2013 0:05:10 GMT -5
I laughed big when I saw this headline on cnnsi 5 minutes ago and came straight here to share that with you.
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Post by The Chloe on Aug 15, 2013 0:06:45 GMT -5
Admittedly, at least two of those laughs I had were due to the headline of the cnnsi article, which declared Bartoli a former Wimbledon winner. Not entirely incorrect, but very misleading.
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Post by The Chloe on Aug 15, 2013 0:10:43 GMT -5
Nice thread title on the other boards, Burley. BOMBSHELLNADO indeed. Confession: I watched part of Sharknado recently. I wanted to understand all the references I kept seeing about it on the Internet. It was exactly what you'd expect it to be, and I lasted about 25 minutes before going to do something else. Got in at least two solid laughs in that time. 25 minutes well spent!
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Post by Old Hag on Aug 15, 2013 0:40:45 GMT -5
I'd likely do the same in a similar situation. She won the biggest tournament. She'll never win a slam again or any relevant tournament unless it's a similar fluke. Even she probably realizes that. Where's the incentive to keep working? It only goes downhill from here. |
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Post by Lady on Aug 15, 2013 1:48:14 GMT -5
LOL, WTF?! Oh, SEWTA!
But seriously it does makes sense, it's only gonna be disappointment from now on, what's the point of continuing?
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Post by Paean on Aug 15, 2013 2:46:23 GMT -5
That's a very cool decision. I'm surprised more of these veterans don't retire right away after winning their lone Grand slam title. They know nothing will come close to winning a Grand Slam and all the hard training and gym work seems so pointless after hitting the very peak of their careers. What would they be training for? Winning the Linz title?
Never cared for her but this decision made me respect her more.
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Post by Denise49IQ on Aug 15, 2013 4:40:01 GMT -5
Wish she could retire from Twitter instead #letsdothis #mariayouaresopretty
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Post by lexpretend on Aug 15, 2013 4:40:45 GMT -5
Whoa.
First, I am surprised for the reason Ali mentioned. Cake has always put a lot of stock into symbolic experiences, so I'd have thought she'd want to coast along and get Slam champ treatment for a year, then open Centre Court play on the first Tuesday of Wimbledon 2014. Even Ivanisevic did this (except still didn't get to do it).
Outside of that I can understand it. I believe her when she says her body is banged up. And she's not at the zenith of her form - were it not for Wimbledon the TTR mutters would have definitely started this year. Her giant-killing exploits in the past are a handy argument against her win being a fluke but overall, she was in decline.
We talk about "going out on a high" so much, but so few tennis players actually do it. So if that's something Cake wanted (presumably eg Fran and Venus don't give a shit), good on her for realising it was time.
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Post by Denise49IQ on Aug 15, 2013 4:41:03 GMT -5
That's a very cool decision. I'm surprised more of these veterans don't retire right away after winning their lone Grand slam title. They know nothing will come close to winning a Grand Slam and all the hard training and gym work seems so pointless after hitting the very peak of their careers. What would they be training for? Winning the Linz title? Never cared for her but this decision made me respect her more. Maaaaybe, they just love playing tennis? |
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Post by R. Black on Aug 15, 2013 5:11:22 GMT -5
Plus, it's a 'job'. It isn't pointless to go on, if only for the price money.
For a player who is still healthy and younger than 30, it would make zero sense to retire right after a Slam.
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Post by Paean on Aug 15, 2013 5:21:55 GMT -5
That's a very cool decision. I'm surprised more of these veterans don't retire right away after winning their lone Grand slam title. They know nothing will come close to winning a Grand Slam and all the hard training and gym work seems so pointless after hitting the very peak of their careers. What would they be training for? Winning the Linz title? Never cared for her but this decision made me respect her more. Maaaaybe, they just love playing tennis? You can love playing tennis without having to be a professional tennis player. Do we only see the benefits of being a professional tennis player? The travelling, the injuries, the lack of motivation, being away from your family all year long, the tiring gym work. At the age of 28 after just winning the biggest title there is, you do question yourself if you really want to go through all of that for the lesser results. She has nothing to prove, she has nothing more to win, she's basically won what she was working for. Game over. There are many more retirements like that in other sports. |
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Post by Edna Krabappel on Aug 15, 2013 5:43:56 GMT -5
It makes sense when you think about it, but I definitely didn't expect it.
I never really liked her, but she's always been an interesting addition to the tour and it will not be the same without her.
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Post by janie on Aug 15, 2013 6:06:35 GMT -5
 Shock shock shock before I even have a cup of tea! Love that she's going on on top (for her) -- just like Henin did. The first time, that is. Well played, Marion.  |
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Post by lexpretend on Aug 15, 2013 6:44:02 GMT -5
Maaaaybe, they just love playing tennis? You can love playing tennis without having to be a professional tennis player. Do we only see the benefits of being a professional tennis player? The travelling, the injuries, the lack of motivation, being away from your family all year long, the tiring gym work. At the age of 28 after just winning the biggest title there is, you do question yourself if you really want to go through all of that for the lesser results. She has nothing to prove, she has nothing more to win, she's basically won what she was working for. Game over. There are many more retirements like that in other sports. If a player is tired of all that, it's definitely TTR. I expect they know better than us, though, and I assume that's not the case for Fran and Venus. I have no idea what Venus/Fran/Tammy think they're still out there for, but I don't really believe they have a responsibility to quit when things go downhill or when their fans demand it though. Of course, as fans and analysts, we can say TTR all we like, but as long as they don't require WCs to enter tournaments it's pretty much up to them. I don't think it tarnishes their legacy, either. |
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Post by matvey on Aug 15, 2013 8:42:54 GMT -5
She's DOPING!!!11!!1
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Post by DBBN on Aug 15, 2013 20:55:07 GMT -5
Obviously a thought that pops into anyone's head in circumstances like this...but she's using the worst drugs ever, then. She's basically stapled together at this point. |
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Post by Old Hag on Aug 16, 2013 0:55:00 GMT -5
That's when you dope. To recover from injuries quicker.
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Post by matvey on Aug 16, 2013 14:55:12 GMT -5
I think Maria will be next.
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Post by R. Black on Aug 16, 2013 15:35:10 GMT -5
She has far too many endorsements and sugar crap to promote to retire in the near future.
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Post by matvey on Aug 16, 2013 15:59:49 GMT -5
Eh, she'll have to bit the bullet and do it sometime, why not now/soon when it would be surprising? It's not as if her future playing prospects are that bright anymore.
I thought that Sugarpova was designed as a post-tennis venture for her anyway, so she could still earn $$$$$$$$$$$$ and be in the limelight without having to actually play tennis.
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Post by lexpretend on Aug 17, 2013 1:41:28 GMT -5
I'm not sure crap candy magnate is the way forward for anyone to keep in the spotlight, merchandise detritus is only ever a sideline. Though Ma$ha has never seemed that concerned with the limelight side of things. It's interesting that despite her much-proclaimed love of fashion she couldn't even make a token venture in that direction. "Fashion line" is a lot more credible/cool than "gross sweets".
Anyway sadly I don't see her retiring yet. She knows she'll outlast Serena and then will have a strong chance of mopping up.
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Post by Old Hag on Aug 17, 2013 11:31:05 GMT -5
Ma$ha's never going away. Too much money invested in her character. The second she retires, she'll remain involved in the tour, announce matches, be a pest forever.
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Post by Grarliner on Aug 17, 2013 18:48:30 GMT -5
I thought that if Maria was ever going to retire early, it would have been during her 2010/2011 dead zone of service problems. Having had the resilience and mental fortitude to survive that, she's probably good to go for a number of years yet, unless her shoulder blows up again.
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Post by R. Black on Sept 2, 2013 15:38:47 GMT -5
Bartoli playing Hopman Cup, WTF. www.lequipe.fr/Tennis/Actualites/Bartoli-en-hopman-cup/398043The article claims a replacement was found but that she changed her mind. Even if it's just an exhibition, it's during the Holidays (Dec 28 - Jan 4) and in Australia, so she's obviously planning to come back or else she wouldn't bother.  |
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