‘So don’t be shy to come say hi,’ American Kristie Ahn announces her retirement, writes a heartfelt Instagram post
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Kristie Ahn
American professional tennis player Kristie Ahn took to Instagram on 5th March to announce her retirement from tennis.
Kristie Ahn, an American tennis player, was a regular on the Tour. When she competed on the ITF circuit, she had a successful career. She began her career at a young age, with her first Grand Slam appearance coming when she was only 16 years old. She received a wildcard entry in 2019 and advanced to the fourth round of the US Open, becoming the first Asian American woman to reach the round of 16 in a Grand Slam tournament since Lilia Osterloh in the year 2000.
She took it to Instagram to post a witty, charming, and heartfelt statement regarding her retirement announcement, in which she talked about being at peace with tennis and recognizing that not everyone gets a fairy-tale retirement among other things. She also acknowledged her fans for being a part of her journey, which included her run in 2019, Tiktok videos under quarantine, her time at Stanford, or 2008, “where it all really begun.” The official page of WTA Insider posted screenshots of her Instagram post on Twitter captioned “Kristie Ahn announces her retirement on Instagram.”
She said that her career was drawing to a close. Ahn was mature enough to recognize that people do not always receive a fairytale send-off as Andre Agassi did. Her only regret is that she was unable to compete in the final tournament at the US Open or on American soil. “Honestly, I’m still so devastated that my last match wasn’t playing in front of you guys – I really wanted to qualify to have one last chance to say thank you and goodbye properly – but I’ve come to terms with the fact that not everybody gets and Agassi farewell.” she wrote, settling for a gracious retirement than a glorious or probably an ungracious one,” she wrote.
‘I’d like to think that I’ve helped chip away at the barrier and added another dimension’: Kristie Ahn
She also wrote about her dream of being able to make an impact on the Asian-American community. “I remember watching and cheering for Michael Chang and Michelle Kwan as they worked to dismantle the stereotype of Asian-Americans only being good at school or music – that we didn’t belong in sports. Obviously, my accolades don’t remotely match up to theirs but I’d like to think that I’ve helped chip away at the barrier and added another dimension,” she said.
She reached the end of the monologue with a very sweet and cheerful note. She wrote, “I’m on track to be a UX designer by June, and have some cool projects upcoming. In the meantime, I’ll be at Indian Wells and Miami roaming the grounds or on the court with a friend, so don’t be shy to come say hi.”
Ahn, although wasn’t a big name in the world of tennis, did manage to leave an impact on the sport and definitely added another dimension to the Asian-American community. Being a victim to the mess COVID-19 brought along, she couldn’t meet the crowd one last time but she retired gracefully.
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Shilpi Pusadkar
(106 Articles Published)