Italy's Flavia Pennetta said arrivederci to women's tennis on Thursday after defeat to Maria Sharapova at the WTA Finals ended her bid for one last fairy tale to cap an already magical final year in the game. The 33-year-old Italian, who landed her first grand slam singles title with a shock victory at the US Open last month, needed only to win a set against the Russian to advance to the semi-finals of the eight-player end-of-season championships.
But Sharapova was in no mood for sentimentality, and the Russian fought back from a break down in the first set to claim a 7-5 6-1 win and earn a place in the last four, along with Agnieszka Radwanska, who had lost to the Italian in round-robin play on Tuesday. For Pennetta, who played her part in another entertaining contest with some flashing winners - particularly from the backhand side - it was a fitting setting in which to bow out.
"I'm happy to have had the chance to play this tournament. I think to have the last match against Maria, who is an amazing player, such a good champion, was such a good way to say goodbye," she told reporters. "When you lose against such a good player there are not too many things to say.
"Right now I feel like it's not my last match. I feel normal. I don't know why. Maybe in few days I will feel different. Right now it's so far, so good." Pennetta will have one final engagement, at the fun-filled International Premier Tennis League at the end of the year, but her WTA career is definitely done after she resisted the temptation to compete at next year's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. She won 11 singles titles in her career and 17 in doubles and proved an inspiring role model by becoming the first Italian woman to reach the top 10 in 2009.
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