FILE PHOTO: Mar 22, 2023; Miami, Florida, US; Kyle Edmund (GBR) hits a forehand against Yibing Wu (CHN) (not pictured) on day three of the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports/File Photo
(Reuters) -Kyle Edmund has been forced to retire at the age of 30 after going through a turbulent few years due to injuries, the former British number one said.
Edmund, who rose to a career-high world ranking of 14 in October 2018 after winning his maiden ATP Tour title in Antwerp, also reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open that same year, becoming the second Briton since Andy Murray to achieve the feat in the Open Era.
His second ATP title came at the 2020 New York Open.
However, injuries derailed his career, forcing him to undergo knee surgeries in November 2020, March 2021 and May 2022. He also struggled with wrist, abdominal, hip and foot injuries.
"To look at the journey and try and bite size it as much as possible is hard. It just felt right with things and my injuries in the past," Edmund posted on social media on Monday.
"Especially around 2020, 2021, I had three surgeries and I spent four or five years trying to come back and had ups and downs along the way.
"But (I) never (was) fully able to get back to maybe my goal and my target. That was the main reason for the decision, but over the next weeks and months, it'll be a nice time to reflect, do different things, spend more time at home with family and just sort of appreciate the journey."
Edmund most recently reached the final of an ATP Challenger Tour event in Nottingham in June.
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by Michael Perry)
