Anne Keothavong joining BT Sport

Former British Number One female tennis player Anne Keothavong has announced she is to retire from professional tennis and will be joining BT Sport’s tennis coverage team later this year.

Keothavon, 29, won a total of 20 International Tennis Federation (ITF) singles titles, eight ITF doubles titles and made seven WTA semi-final appearances.  She reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 48 in early 2009, the first British woman in 16 years to crack the world’s Top 50.

In Grand Slams her high point was reaching the third round of the US Open in 2008 and while at Tour level, she reached the last four of 2009 Warsaw, the best British result at a Premier level clay court event since Jo Durie was a semifinalist at the 1983 French Open.

“I think I am leaving tennis in excellent shape with both Laura Robson and Heather Watson leading the way for Britain in the women’s game. I am now focussing on my exciting new challenge with BT Sport where I hope I can provide insight and analysis for tennis fans,” said Keothavon.

She will now join Lynsey Hipgrave, former British Number One Sam Smith and tennis legend Martina Navratilova to cover the 21 Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) tournaments for BT Sport including the five Premier WTA tournaments in Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Beijing and Istanbul.

Simon Green, director of BT Sport, said: “We are particularly pleased to have signed up Anne for our tennis team. She’s straight off the court and I am sure that will give her fantastic insight into the mentality and performance of her fellow professionals on the tour. Anne has been at the forefront of women’s tennis in the UK for years and can give the viewers the benefit of her experience and knowledge of both her fellow British stars, like Heather Watson and Laura Robson, as well as the current top-ranking players.”