Davenport to retire next year

Tennis: Three-times grand slam tournament winner Lindsay Davenport has no plans to play tennis again after giving birth to her…

Tennis:Three-times grand slam tournament winner Lindsay Davenport has no plans to play tennis again after giving birth to her first child next year.

"I hate the word 'retirement' but this season was such a struggle physically for me and I can't imagine playing again," Davenport told ESPN.com.

The 30-year-old American missed most of 2006 with back problems before reaching the quarter-finals at the U.S. Open.

In her career, she has won the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open singles titles plus the 1996 Atlanta Olympics gold medal. Her 51 singles titles put her ninth on the all-time list.

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Davenport began her professional career in 1993 and was one of the pioneers of the power game in women's tennis.

Davenport struggled with injuries in 2002 but came back to win 13 tournaments in 2004 and 2005. Her loss to Venus Williams in last year's Wimbledon final was the longest championship match in the tournament's history.

"I can't say there's any sadness, yet, about missing tennis. My life is with my husband and my future child," Davenport said.

"I feel like the second part of my life is about to begin, and I feel so lucky that if everything goes well, I'm able to go out like this. The timing couldn't be better."