Goodbye: Shelby Rogers is playing her last tournament at the US Open

American player Shelby Rogers has announced that the 2024 US Open will be the last tournament of her career.

The main reason for Rogers’ retirement is health-related; the 31-year-old stated she would continue playing tennis forever if her body permitted:

There really aren’t enough words for this moment, but I can confidently say that I have pushed my body to its limits. These last couple of years fighting with injuries and surgeries have been challenging. I always said that if my heart loves it and my body is healthy I would play this sport forever! But now my body is telling me it’s time.

Reflecting on her journey, Rogers shared an emotional message: “When you start playing a sport as a kid, you never think about the ending. You just practice, have fun, and chase your dreams as hard as you can. My dream was to be a professional tennis player, and I can forever tell that little girl we did it!”

The native of Mount Pleasant, who reached a career-high ranking of No. 30 in August 2022, will say goodbye to professional tennis at the 2024 US Open. The American not only made her major main-draw debut at the 2010 US Open, the year she turned pro, but she also achieved a career-defining victory at the 2021 US Open by upsetting then-No. 1 Ashleigh Barty in the third round. This win, celebrated in front of a passionate home crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium, was one of the standout moments of the 2021 tennis season.

Over her career, Rogers has reached two Grand Slam quarterfinals (Roland Garros 2016 and US Open 2020) and competed in three WTA finals (Bad Gastein 2014, Rio de Janeiro 2016, and San Jose 2022). Rogers also boasts six ITF titles and victories over Top 10 players Serena Williams and Simona Halep.

Entering the 2024 US Open ranked No. 356, Rogers will face fellow American Jessica Pegula, the No. 6 seed, in the opening round. Despite a challenging summer on hard courts, Rogers expressed excitement for her final appearance at her home Slam, “I can’t wait to see y’all in NY for one more US Open!”