Former world number 11 Shahar Peer, the most successful Israeli woman to play on the WTA Tour, announced her retirement because of injury on Tuesday.
The 29-year-old righthander won five singles titles in 12 years on the WTA Tour and reached her career high ranking in January 2011.
Peer had not played a match on tour since the Abierto Monterrey in February last year, when she lost in the opening round of qualifying.
Peer, 29, wrote on Facebook,
Hi Everyone,
I want to share with you one of the hardest decisions I have had to make in my life. After 23 years, in which 13 of those years I was an international professional tennis player, I am retiring.
I made this decision following a chronic inflammation in my shoulder, that has been lasting for over two years, and prevents me from competing at the high level that I am used to and expect from myself.
At the same time, I lost my desire for the game of tennis and the intense way of life I have lived since I was 6.5 years old.
I look back on this experience with a huge smile, a lot of happiness and satisfaction. I am proud of all of my accomplishments as well as the huge honor I was given to represent the state of Israel.
I want to thank everyone for your never-ending support that I received every single day, every hour and every place I went to around the world.
This Friday, "Ulpan Shishi" on Channel 2 will broadcast a segment about my career, my deliberation about my retirement, and my plans for the future.
I promise to continue to update you about every interesting development of Chapter 2 of my life.
Yours,
Shahar
Peer, who turned professional in 2004, became the first Israeli woman to make the quarter-finals of a grand slam, doing so twice in 2007, at the Australian Open and US Open.
In 2008, she became the first Israeli to compete at a WTA tournament in the Arabian Peninsula when she took part in the Qatar Open.
In addition to her successful WTA career, Peer was a Fed Cup stalwart for Israel, playing 76 matches and compiling a 45-31 record, and in 2008 she represented Israel at the Beijing Olympics.
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