American Mallory Burdette, best known for reaching the third round of the US Open in 2012, announced her retirement from professional tennis on Friday after a year of shoulder troubles.
Burdette first came onto the radar when she received a wildcard into the main draw of the 2012 Bank of The West Classic. In the first round, she defeated Anne Keothavong in three sets before losing to Marion Bartoli in a tight match in the second round. Burdette gave up her final year of collegiate elligibility at Stanford University to turn professional in 2012, the year she defeated Timea Backsinszky and Lucie Hradecka before falling to Maria Sharapova.
She qualified and reached the third round of the Family Circle Cup in Charleston in 2013, defeating Sabine Lisicki before losing to Serena Williams for her best career result, and reached a career-high ranking of No. 68 in June of 2013. However, she lost seven consecutive matches to close out the year, before undergoing shoulder surgery.
Despite a successful rehab, and taking the time to finish her degree while on the sidelines, the 23-year-old decided to end her career and posted a message on her personal Facebook page.
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