Angelique Kerber Bows Out of Tennis at Paris Olympics

Angelique Kerber, a German tennis veteran, concluded her professional career at the Paris Olympics after a three-set defeat in the quarter-finals against China's Zheng Qinwen. Kerber, a silver medalist from Rio 2016, celebrated her best performance of the year, following her return from maternity leave.

German tennis veteran Angelique Kerber concluded her professional career at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday. Kerber faced a heart-wrenching 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(6) defeat in a gripping quarter-final match against China's world No. 7 Zheng Qinwen.

Zheng became only the second Chinese player to reach the singles semi-finals at an Olympics, following in the footsteps of Li Na, who achieved the feat at the Beijing 2008 Games. The atmosphere was electric as Kerber, who claimed a silver medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics, took the lead in the third set to 4-1 amidst the cheers of an enthusiastic French crowd.

Despite losing ten points in a row and the searing heat of the Philippe Chatrier court, the German icon bounced back to 4-4 before Zheng's powerful shots clinched the tiebreak. This quarter-final run marked Kerber's best performance of the year, having faced early exits in all three Grand Slam events since her return from maternity leave in January.

(With inputs from agencies.)