Germany's Angelique Kerber celebrated the end of her tennis career with "goosebumps" and a little dance to a pop song as she won an exhibition match in Bad Homburg on Saturday.
The three-time Grand Slam champion beat Serbian former world number one Ana Ivanović 6-3, 7-5, a day before the start of the Bad Homburg grass tournament near Frankfurt.
In oppressive heat, the 38-year-old experienced an emotional afternoon.
"As of today I have really retired. The chapter is over. A new one can begin," said Kerber, who has a son (1) and a daughter (3).
After winning the first set, the former world number one briefly put her tennis racket aside and danced with her long-time friend Andrea Petkovic to a recording of German singer Helene Fischer.
Messages were shown on screen in Kerber's honour from Fischer as well as from tennis icons Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf. Boris Becker watched the match on site with over 4,000 fans.
"It's so nice to see you all here. It means a lot to me," Kerber added, having swapped roles with ball kids for a few rallies.
Scenes of her triumphs at the Australian Open and the US Open in 2016 and Wimbledon in 2018 were also put on the screen.
"I get goosebumps when I see the images," Kerber admitted.
Almost two years ago, the German said goodbye to professional tennis at the Olympic Games in Paris.
The country's most successful female tennis player since Graf would have planned a farewell match earlier but became a mother for the second time last year.
Kerber is working as the sporting director at the Bad Homburg tournament and will be a TV expert for the first time at Wimbledon from June 29 to July 12.
