BBC commentator Jo Durie has announced her immediate retirement at the age of 65, signing off during Iga Swiatek's dramatic and unexpected defeat to Alexandra Eala on Centre Court at Wimbledon on Saturday afternoon.
Durie's Final Match and Career Highlights
As a player, Durie held the position of British No. 1 for the majority of her career and claimed two WTA titles. She reached the semi-finals of both the French Open and US Open in 1983. The furthest she advanced at Wimbledon was the quarter-finals in 1984, where she defeated a 15-year-old Steffi Graf along the way. Durie called time on her playing career in 1995 and immediately moved into the commentary box, where she has been a constant presence throughout the past three decades, working for both the BBC and British Eurosport.
Social Media Announcement
"Well after 30 years of commentating today was my last match," she wrote on social media. "Great way to finish on Centre Court. Thanks to @bbc & fellow comms Chris Simon & Sam had such fun over the years. I'll be back to watch, love this sport."
Swiatek's Reaction to Defeat
Durie's swansong saw defending Wimbledon champion Swiatek fall to No. 29 seed Eala, leaving the Polish star to reflect on her squandered chances. The No. 3 seed said: "I think it was tougher mentally for me to accept these missed returns from the slow serves. I got to say it's much tougher to return a serve like that than a normal serve. I know it was slow. I know exactly how it's going to come to me. It's such a different rhythm than what I usually have a chance to return. The first serve, I mean, it was a good fight and I know that it's hard, such a long set. I know that one ball here or there could change a lot. But I wanted to be present in the second set. I made some unforced errors at the beginning. Then, yeah, I felt like she was serving slower and slower, and it became tougher and tougher for me to return these serves. That, for me, was hard to accept, yeah."
