Steffi Graf yesterday officially confirmed that she would retire at the end of the season.

Graf (30) had already said after the Wimbledon championships that she would not return to the All England Club next season.

She said: "I must say this will be my last season. I am privileged to be able to leave when I wish without being pushed towards the exit door. It was not easy to take this decision but the competition had become too difficult for me."

Graf, who has had 17 seasons on the WTA circuit, will compete in tournaments in San Diego, Toronto and Newhaven before disputing her last Grand Slam, the US Open.

European Youth Olympics: Ciaran D'Arcy progressed to the quarter-finals of the badminton singles on the first day of competition at the European Youth Olympics in Esbjerg, Denmark, yesterday.

D'Arcy beat Finn Petri Hyyrylainen 15-13, 15-9 before a more comfortable win of 15-4, 154 over Tim Baeke (Belarus) sent him into a quarter-final match against Britain's Robert Blair today.

Lisa Lynas lost out in her second-round match to Camilla Augustyn of Poland 11-4, 11-4. Sarah McGillicuddy came closest to a medal later in the afternoon in the 44 kg judo competition by sharing fifth spot and was just one win away from a share of the bronze medal. Joanne Dillon also moved past three opponents before falling to Casey Stroud of Britain.

Earlier in the morning, swimmer Conor Morris missed out on a spot in the A final of the 100 metres freestyle by just two places but finished second in the B final with a time of 54.27 seconds.

Boxing: Eamonn Magee has a big prize at stake when he meets Paul Burke in a Commonwealth light-welterweight title fight on September 13th in London. Magee has been told that an impressive victory could lead to a WBU title showdown against Shea Neary in October.