Dechy quits tennis aged 30

Published on Tuesday 21 July 2009 22:59

THREE-TIMES grand slam doubles winner Nathalie Dechy has retired from tennis at the age of 30 to spend more time with her family after becoming pregnant.

The Frenchwoman, who turned professional in 1994, won the US Open women's doubles title with Vera Zvonareva in 2006, then triumphed with Dinara Safina a year later. She also won the French Open mixed doubles in 2007 with Andy Ram. Her best result in grand slam singles was a semi-final at the Australian Open in 2005. She won her only WTA singles title in the Gold Coast tournament in 2003 and reached her career-highest ranking when she rose to 11th in January 2006.