Tsvetana Pironkova announces return to professional tennis

Plovdiv [Bulgaria], Mar 15 : Former Wimbledon semifinalist Tsvetana Pironkova has announced her plans to return to international tennis after a break of three years.

The highest-ranked Bulgarian played her last match at Wimbledon in 2017. The 32-year-old later gave birth to a son in March 2018.

"For the past three months, I have been intensively training in order to compete at a professional level again," Pironkova wrote in an Instagram post.

"It wasn't an easy decision, considering the extent of the challenge. There are many circumstances that I need to take into account, but what matters the most is that I have the love and full support of my family," she added.

In the year 2010, Pironkova became the first woman from Bulgaria to reach a Grand Slam semifinal in nearly 20 years after she qualified in the final four of Wimbledon.

She also attained a career-high ranking of World No.31 in 2010.

"I will soon share with you a short schedule of the tournaments that I am planning to play," she further said.

Pironkova also owns the current Bulgarian record for singles wins in Fed Cup (22).

( With inputs from ANI )