By Erik Gudris | Friday, May 2, 2014

 

Former World No. 1 Dinara Safina of Russia will formally announce her retirement from tennis next week in Madrid.

Photo Credit: AP

Former World No. 1 Dinara Safina will formally announce her retirement from tennis at next week's Madrid Open.

According to French newspaper L'Equipe, Safina will make the announcement in Madrid and also take part in the event's trophy ceremony.

A three-time Grand Slam finalist, Safina suffered a fractured veterbrae at the Australian Open back in 2010. That injury forced her out of the WTA tour where she once had been the No. 1 player for 26 weeks.

Despite making several comeback attempts, Safina played her last professional match in Madrid three years ago in a second round loss to Germany's Julia Goerges.

Safina won 12 career WTA titles and the silver medal at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing. She is also the younger sister of Marat Safin, a former No. 1 himself. Both were the first brother-sister pair to both reach No. 1 in the world.