American tennis player Shelby Rogers, a two-time major quarterfinalist, announced she will be retiring from the sport following the upcoming US Open.
In a post on social media on Friday, Rogers, 31, said she would “play this sport forever” if she were healthy but cited a series of injuries and subsequent surgeries as the reason for her decision.
“There really aren’t enough words for this moment, but I can confidently say that I have pushed my body to its limit,” Rogers wrote. “These last couple of years fighting with injuries and surgeries have been challenging. … Now my body is telling me it’s time.”
Rogers, who peaked at No. 30 in the rankings in 2022, said the US Open would be her final event. She reached the quarterfinals at the tournament in 2020 and recorded the biggest win of her career at the 2021 US Open as she upset then-No. 1 Ashleigh Barty, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (5), in the third round in front of an adoring home crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium. It was her first victory over Barty in six tries, including four matches previously that year, and it was one of the memorable moments of the 2021 season.
Rogers is popular and well-liked by her peers, and even Barty said she couldn’t be too upset after falling to her.
“It sucks in tennis that there’s a winner and loser every single day, but sometimes you don’t mind losing to certain people,” Barty said. “I think Shelby, in a sense of her personality and her character, she’s certainly one of those for me.”
A native of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, Rogers turned professional in 2010 and made her major main draw debut that year at the US Open. Rogers reached three WTA finals throughout her career, most recently at the 500-level Silicon Valley Classic in 2022, and earned six ITF titles. In addition to the win over Barty, Rogers also recorded victories over other top-10 players including Serena Williams in 2020 and Simona Halep in 2017. She enters the US Open ranked No. 356 and having not won a match on hard court this summer in four tournaments.
Rogers will face fellow American Jessica Pegula, the No. 6 seed, in the opening round at the US Open next week. She said in the same post Friday that was she excited for one final appearance at her home Slam.
“My heart will always love this sport, and I hope I can pass along some inspiration to the next generation of players to dream big and keep growing the beautiful game of tennis,” Rogers wrote. “I am very much looking forward to this next chapter of my life… but I can’t wait to see y’all in NY for one more US Open!”
Rogers’ announcement was met with congratulatory words and well wishes from many of her current and former peers, including Madison Keys, Ons Jabeur, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Alize Cornet.