US Open champion, Flavia Pennetta, may be gearing up for retirement at the end of this year, but the 33-year-old is refusing to rule out an appearance at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016.
After winning her first Grand Slam title in New York last month, Italian Pennetta shocked those watching by announcing her plans to retire during her post-match on-court interview.
But Pennetta has admitted she may be tempted to make a one-off return in Brazil next August as she would likely still be ranked high enough to qualify by virtue of the ranking points – which stay on for 12 months – she gained for winning the US Open.
Pennetta said: “I cannot tell you how I am going to feel in February or January. If I feel I want to play, I play. I don’t have to keep just one decision because I said something.”
Pennetta’s first tournament since her Grand Slam triumph came to an end on Thursday as the third seed was knocked out in the third round of the China Open in Beijing with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 defeat by Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Currently lying seventh in the standings, Pennetta is still on course to qualify for the season-ending WTA Finals in Singapore and will play at next week’s Tianjin Open in a bid to secure her place.
Pennetta said: “I’m really happy with my decision [to retire]. I’m not going to change anything. Of course, I would like to finish the year. I’m here because I would like to finish in the high way I can do, and then it’s over.”
Roberta Vinci, the 32-year-old Italian who ended Serena William’s Calendar Grand Slam bid at the US Open before losing to Pennetta in the final, also bowed out with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 defeat by American qualifier Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
Wimbledon runner-up Garbine Muguruza celebrated her 22nd birthday by booking a place in both the quarter-finals of the China Open and the WTA Finals in Singapore with a 1-6, 6-2, 6-1 win against Croatian Mirjana Lucic-Baroni.
Muguruza showed her frustrations at 5-1 down in the first set by repeatedly smashing her racket on the court, but it appeared to help as the Spaniard recovered to complete the comeback before being presented on court with a parcel containing a ticket to Singapore.
Despite taking a medical timeout midway through the final set, former world No 1 Ana Ivanovic still managed to seal a last-eight spot by seeing off Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-5, 4-6, 6-2.