"It was the right decision at that time" - Ana Ivanovic opens up on her early retirement, importance of mental strength, favorite tennis shot & more

Ana Ivanovic has stated that she has no regrets about her early retirement and never entertained any thoughts of making a comeback after that.

Ivanovic turned pro at the age of 15 in August 2003. During her time on the WTA tour, she won 15 singles titles, including the 2008 French Open. She also finished as the runner-up at Majors twice, losing to Justine Henin at the 2007 Roland Garros and to Maria Sharapova at the 2008 Australian Open.

Ivanovic's Grand Slam title win in 2008, however, was followed by many injury struggles. The former World No. 1 couldn't find consistency on the WTA tour, failing to reach the quarterfinals at 17 subsequent Majors. She also dropped to World No. 65 in the WTA rankings by July 2010.

At the end of 2016, the Serb took to social media to announce her retirement at the age of 29, stating that she could no longer play at the elite level she demanded from herself due to injuries.

"It is a difficult decision but I feel the time is right to move on. I have been hampered by injuries recently and unable to maintain the top physical form that is required for the sport. My own standards are set quite high and I feel I have been unable to match them for a while," she said in a video on Facebook.

In a recent interaction with fans on X (formerly Twitter), Ivanovic stated that she has no regrets about the timing of her retirement and admitted to never entertaining thoughts of making a comeback.

"No, it was the right decision at that time and I now have my beautiful family and still play some tennis from time to time of course," she said.

The 36-year-old Serbian also gave her thoughts on what separates a good player from a great player.

"I think it's about mental strength, discipline, consistency and of course always some talent a great player might have some more of," she opined.

Ivanovic, who has always been good friends with Angelique Kerber, stated that the two still meet regularly. When asked to pick her favorite moment with Kerber on the court, she picked the 2013 Linz final, where she lost 6-4, 7-6(6) to the German.

"Hi, yes we still see each other frequently. We had a lot of great on court moments together, but I think my favorite one probably was playing her in the Linz final in 2013," she expressed.

Ana Ivanovic also touched upon her favorite tennis shot, her fittest year on the WTA tour, and which match of her's she gets asked about the most.

"Forehand", she wrote when asked to name her favorite tennis shot.

"Probably 2008. But I also liked 2014 - It was very different to 2008, I felt more mature and comfortable", Ivanovic wrote when asked what she considers her fittest year on the Tour.

When asked which match she gets asked about more, her 2008 French Open final win against Dinara Safina or her fourth-round victory against Serena Williams at the 2014 Australian Open, she replied:

"The @rolandgarros victory in 2008 🎾"

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Ana Ivanovic makes surprise appearance at 2024 Linz Open, performs coin toss before the final

Ana Ivanovic retired from the sport in 2016.

Ana Ivanovic recently surprised tennis fans by making an appearance at the 2024 Linz Open in Austria.

Ivanovic, who got a huge round of applause as she made her way onto the court, performed the coin toss ahead of the final between Jelena Ostapenko and Ekaterina Alexandrova.

Speaking to the WTA later, the Serb praised the way the tournament is organized in Linz and why it was deserving of the WTA 500 status.

"Linz has such a strong history and top players have always loved playing there. The tournament does a great job of hosting all of the players and making everyone feel welcome, so I think they are very deserving of the 500-level status," she said.

Later, Ana Ivanovic also took to social media to share a few pictures and videos from her latest visit to Linz.