There will be many farewells at the Australian Open this year, which has been added to after another Grand Slam champion confirmed her retirement.
Stan Wawrinka is playing his final Australian Open this year, with the former champion already winning his first match in Melbourne since 2021.
While the Swiss still remains in the tournament, former world number six Gael Monfils has already bid an emotional farewell to the Australian Open after losing in the first round.
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Both Wawrinka and Monfils are still competing throughout 2026, while another Grand Slam champion has announced her immediate retirement from tennis.
Latisha Chan announces her retirement from professional tennis
Joining the growing list of retirements this year is Latisha Chan, who won four Grand Slam doubles titles in her career.
Chan has not played a professional tennis match since the Paris Olympics in 2024, and in an emotional message on Instagram she has now confirmed her retirement.
In this lengthy farewell note, Chan revealed that she will have a retirement ceremony at the Australian Open this week.
“Bye bye professional tennis,” Chan wrote in a message translated from Chinese. “To a voyage with a compass only — this was supposed to be a bit sentimental moment, but don’t know why but what comes to mind is the pictures that make people smile.
“I’ve never been very good at saying goodbye, especially to say goodbye to a dream that has been with me for 30 years. Tennis came into my life when I was 6 years old, I didn’t expect to be with me all the way until I was 36 years old.”
Chan continued, “…I officially announce my retirement as a professional tennis player. Retirement ceremony will also be held at the Australian Open this week, when I was 14 I won the Teen Girls Doubles Championship in the Australian Open [and] started my career tennis path. So the end of this journey is very meaningful.”
She concluded by hinting that she will still be involved in the sport, “This is not goodbye, I won’t go far, looking forward to returning in another way. Bye bye professional tennis.”
Latisha Chan’s Career Achievements
Alongside Chan’s four Grand Slam doubles titles, one in women’s doubles with Martina Hingis and three in mixed with Ivan Dodig, she won a total of 33 WTA tournaments in her career.
This enabled the player from Taiwan to reach the summit of the WTA doubles rankings, with Chan the world number one for 34 weeks in her career.
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While she was most known for her doubles success, Chan also reached the top 50 in singles in 2007.
| Latisha Chan’s Achievements | Singles | Doubles |
| Career-high ranking | No.50 | No.1 |
| WTA Titles | 0 | 33 |
| Best Grand Slam Result | Third Round (US Open 2010, French Open 2011) | Four titles (Women’s doubles – US Open 2017, Mixed Doubles – French Open 2018, 2019 & Wimbledon 2019) |
While Latisha will no longer be competing on the WTA Tour, her younger sister Hao-Ching Chan remains as a top 40 doubles player.
Hao-Ching Chan is also competing at the Australian Open this year, where her older sister will officially say farewell to tennis.
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