Anett Kontaveit and Kaia Kanepi are set to play against each other in a padel match in Tallinn, via Estonian publication ERR.
Kontaveit, 29, retired from pro tennis after 2023 Wimbledon, while 40-year-old Kanepi played her last match in 2024. Now, they are set for some action - but not on a tennis court.
According to ERR, Kontaveit and Kanepi will meet on Thursday. The event is slated to start at 7 PM and the two former Estonian tennis stars will meet in the second women's padel match scheduled for the night.
During their tennis careers, Kontaveit and Kanepi met only once. And it came in their home tournament in Tallinn in 2022, when the elder of the two Estonians won 6-4 6-4.
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A chronic issue forced Kontaveit into a very early retirement
After dealing with a back injury in 2022 and ending her season earlier, Kontaveit took some time off - returned in early 2023 - but her back didn't show any signs of improvement. That's when the former world No. 2 was diagnosed with lumbar disc degeneration in her back.
"It's just from overuse, the spine gets [strained] all the time. You run from corner to corner for hours every day, it just gets put under so much strain that parts like that just wear out, they get too much wattage. I knew that at some point this career had to end. Top sport is all about tearing your body apart," the former six-time WTA champion explained 2023.
In June 2023, the former world No. 2 announced that Wimbledon would be the final tournament of her career.
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"I wouldn't have stopped for no reason. This back injury has become so bad over the years. It was holding me back so much that I felt I couldn't play at that level anymore. It was such a tough decision," she said at the time.
Kontaveit was just 27 when her pro tennis career ended.
