Serra Zanetti Retires
By Tennis Week <http://preview.tinyurl.com/2uhlrt>
09/20/2007
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Unable to fully overcome the foot-injury she suffered in 2005,
Adriana Serra Zanetti has called it quits, concluding a career that
saw the Italian reach a career-high rank of No. 38 a month after she
advanced to the 2002 Australian Open quarter-finals.

"I give up professional tennis due to a foot-injury I had in October
2005 that never healed," Serra Zanetti said in a statement posted on
the Italian Federation website and published by AGI/ITALPress.

"Tennis has given me the possibility to keep improving myself as an
athlete and as a human being. It has been a continuous challenge with
victories and defeats, glory and pain, but fortunately little regret
since I have reached important goals. I thank all those who have
supported me in these years."

The 31-year-old Serra Zanetti, who hits with two hands off both
sides, had not played a main-draw WTA Tour match since suffering a
straight-sets loss to Canada's Maureen Drake in the opening round of
the Tier IV Rabat tournament in May of 2005. She spent 2006 playing
at the Challenger level, and did not play this season as her ranking
dropped to No. 803.

The elder of the two Serra Zanetti sisters from Modena, Italy,
Adriana's younger sister, Antonella, is currently ranked No. 342. The
two sisters faced off in the opening round of the 2003 Indian Wells,
with Antonella Serra Zanetti spoiling older sister Adriana Serra
Zanetti's 27th birthday with a 6-7(3) 6-3 6-3 win.

The Serra Zanettis come from a close-knit family — Antonella cites
her banker father Alessandro and art-history teacher mother Arianna
as her role-models for instilling good values in their children — so
that match concluded with tears rather than celebration.

"It's very hard," Adriana said. "We were both very nervous before the
match. After the match, we were both crying."

Adriana, who compiled a 9:7 Fed Cup record for Italy, plans to remain
in tennis as a coach in her native Modena.
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