'My career is over'

Iva Majoli, 1997 French Open champ, calls it quits

ZAGREB (Reuters) -- Croatia's Iva Majoli, the 1997 French Open champion, announced her retirement from competitive tennis on Tuesday saying she lacked motivation.

"There may be some exhibition matches or doubles, but my career is over," the 26-year-old Majoli told sports gazette Sportske Novosti.

"I have fallen too low," she said. "I am practically back at the beginning and would have to work like a maniac to get back to the top. I realized I was not ready for that."

Majoli, who beat Swiss Martina Hingis in the 1997 Roland Garros final, was once rated as high as No. 4 but has seen her world ranking plummet to 294.

The winner of eight career WTA Tour titles, including the French Open, Majoli was not at Wimbledon this year having slipped too far in the rankings, and she did not try to qualify.

Majoli has played only five matches since Wimbledon 2003 and lost four of them.

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