Ana Ivanovic is a former World No. 1, and the Serbian turned emotional when she found a picture of herself as a kid with a racquet. It’s been quite a journey for Ivanovic, who has not played tennis since 2016 when she officially retired.

She was a professional player starting in 2003 and achieved many things, including winning a Grand Slam and becoming the world’s highest-ranked player. That wasn’t easy, and only Ivanovic knows everything she had to do to get there. Clearly, she was very emotional remembering those times.

What triggered her memories was a picture of herself as a kid holding a racquet from many years ago. Ivanovic posted the picture on social media, explaining the profound effect it had on her, adding that she is very proud of that little kid who ended up doing great things once she grew up.

“Just found this picture – I’m proud of her. She had a passion. She never gave up. So she fulfilled her dreams and achieved her goals,” Ana Ivanovic wrote on X.

It’s been a while since Ivanovic was present in any capacity, but her impact is still palpable. Every girl that emerges from Serbia has Ivanovic as a role model, and that’s something that time won’t erase.

Ana Ivanovic Career Achievements

Ana Ivanovic achieved many great things in her career, which lasted for 13 years. She became a pro in 2003 at the age of 16 and retired fairly young at 29. Many injuries contributed to her calling it quits early, but she still managed to hold her own despite not playing into the thirties.

Winning the 2008 French Open is certainly the pinnacle of her career because it was that year that she also became World No. 1. Those two things are the biggest achievements of her tennis career, but certainly not the only ones. She played in two more Grand Slam finals.

The first one came in 2007 when she lost in the Roland Garros final against Justine Henin. Then she lost to Maria Sharapova in the 2008 Australian Open final before finally winning one at the 2008 Roland Garros. Still, winning 15 trophies in her career and becoming the World No. 1 at a time when there were many great players, including legendary ones like Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams and more, is certainly a fantastic achievement.

Ana Ivanovic also won 3 WTA 1000 trophies which nicely round out a fine career that was unfortunately cut short due to injuries. She’s still one of the best players to have come out of Serbia.