Shelby Rogers emotionally ended her tennis career after her first-round U.S. Open loss at Arthur Ashe Stadium as the clock struck midnight Tuesday.
Rogers lost in straight sets to Jessica Pegula, and the crowd gave her a warm embrace when she took the microphone.
“Overwhelming emotions,” Rogers, a South Carolina native, said after the match. “The main one is just gratitude. Gratitude for all the amazing moments and some tough ones on this court too. But really special that I’m able to play here one more time.
“Gratitude to my family that’s here. Some of them flew in today. Some of them have been here a few days. Thank you for the support. My team, everyone behind the scenes that’s been there for decades.. it’s been a lot of years in the making. Gratitude to the lord for these blessings and talents and opportunities to glorify him with everything that I do. And overall my emotions.”
Rogers, 31, has been a top-30 player in singles and top-40 player in doubles during her lengthy career, which included a girls’ national championship win at age 17.
Rogers went down to Pegula, 6-4, 6-3 in the final match of the day on the featured U.S. Open court.
The sixth-seeded Pegula, who will face American Sofia Kenin in the second round on Thursday, entered as one of the favorites after winning the Canadian Open and losing in the finals of the Cincinnati Masters.
“I wish I had prepared this better,” Rogers said. “It’s so special to share this with you guys and I just can’t wait to see… I don’t know what else I can do with the sport. I don’t want to leave it, but my body says it’s time, so I won’t be a stranger, and I hope to see you guys soon.”
Rogers dealt with injuries throughout her career — including knee surgery in 2018 — that forced her to miss several of her prime years.
Her longest absence was from 2018-2020, although she returned in style by reaching the quarterfinals in the 2020 U.S. Open.
In that tournament, she upset Elena Rybakina in the second round and went on a Cinderella-like run to the quarterfinals, where she fell to eventual champion Naomi Osaka in straight sets.
She made it clear prior to the start of the U.S. Open that this would be the end of her career, although she stopped short of announcing future plans.