Russia's Ekaterina Makarova, one of the WTA's most well-rounded players of the past decade, is hanging up her racquets.
Having not played in nearly a year, since last February's Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, the former Top 10 stalwart officially announced her retirement from professional tennis in a post on Instagram on Tuesday.
"I want to thank everyone who has been with me shoulder to shoulder all these years. Who took part in my sports career, starting from my childhood," the 31-year-old left-hander wrote. "I am very happy and proud of my sports career. It's time to move on and start a new stage in my life."
The Russian earned a reputation as a big-match player over the course of a decorated professional career which began in 2003 and eventually saw her crack the world's Top 10 in both singles and doubles, and win four Grand Slams in the latter discipline.
Reaching a career-high singles ranking of World No.8 in 2015, Makarova reached a pair of semifinals at the 2014 US Open and the 2015 Australian Open, and boasted a staggering 32 career wins over Top 10 players.
In photos: Marvelous Makarova: 11 top moments from an Olympic career
Her list of victories reads like a list of eventual Hall of Famers, as she scored wins over Serena Williams, Angelique Kerber, Victoria Azarenka, Simona Halep and Venus Williams - among other major champions and big names - over the course of her career.
This included her lone career win against a reigning World No.1 - a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Kerber - in the first round of the 2017 French Open.
Makarova also earned the distinction of reaching the quarterfinals or better in all three disciplines -- singles, doubles and mixed doubles -- at all four majors, outside of a pair of fourth-round showings in singles at the 2011 and 2015 French Opens.
A three-time Grand Slam champion and Rio Olympics gold medalist in doubles with compatriot Elena Vesnina, Makarova reached the doubles World No.1 ranking in in 2018, and held it for five weeks.
The duo fell just one match short of completing the career Grand Slam together, having won the French Open (2013), the US Open (2014) and Wimbledon (2017) together, while finishing runner-up at the Australian Open twice.
She and Vesnina also won the WTA Finals in Singapore in 2016, and she partnered with Brazil's Bruno Soares to win the 2012 US Open in mixed doubles.
