American Jamie Hampton, 30, officially announced her retirement on Twitter after six years of being sidelined by injuries.
In July 2013 Hampton reached her career-high ranking of No.24, but already in January 2014 she played what turned out to be her last WTA tournament — the ASB Classic in Auckland, where she withdrew from her semifinal against Venus Williams because of a right hip injury. Subsequently, Hampton underwent six surgeries over the next 18 months, which included two hip surgeries.
I’m sure those of you who have followed my tennis career know that I’ve undergone numerous surgeries in the past few years. Unfortunately, they weren’t successful enough for me to return to tennis. Confronting this reality couldn’t have been more disappointing, and it’s taken many years to work through. Tennis was my first love, and even though it’s been years since I’ve competed, it’s still heartbreaking to officially say goodbye.
Hampton’s best WTA achievement was a run to the 2013 Aegon International final, as she recorded two Top 10 victories during that week in Eastbourne — over then-world No.4 Agnieszka Radwanska and then-world No.9 Caroline Wozniacki.
Jamie was born in Frankfurt, Germany, where her father, a career US Army officer, worked at the time, but not long afterwards the family relocated to the United States, more precisely, to Alabama. Jamie’s mother, a homemaker, is from South Korea.
Jamie picked up a tennis racquet at the age of eight. As her WTA bio states, she developed a wrist injury from age 15/16 and played with it for a few years, then had surgery at age 19. Unfortunately, due to persistent injuries, Jamie played just a little over four seasons as a tennis professional.
