Not every player goes on to fulfil the potential that they have shown as a junior.
Every tennis fan knows about four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, but her sister was also a prospect before retiring at a young age.
Another big prospect who retired without fulfilling their potential was Laura Robson, with injury forcing her to retire at 27 years old.
However, another former British number one retired at an even younger age than Robson.
Photo by Visionhaus via Getty ImagesAnnabel Croft: The former two-time junior Grand Slam champion
Annabel Croft has created a career for herself as a broadcaster and commentator, but not many people know about her time as a tennis player.
Born in Kent, Croft was a very promising young British player and she did not take long to show her promise on the world stage.
Croft’s breakout season came in 1984, when she won the junior titles at both the Australian Open and her home Grand Slam of Wimbledon.
Since the junior Grand Slam tournaments began in 1930, Croft is the only British girl to win two titles in the same calendar year.
It was not just on the junior stage that Croft impressed that year, as she also reached the third round of the women’s singles draw at Wimbledon as a 17-year-old.
The only person to beat Croft at Wimbledon that year was now 18-time Grand Slam champion Chris Evert, who would go on to reach the final.
Photo by Nigel Wright/Mirrorpix via Getty Images
Croft’s success would continue into 1985, where she would win her first WTA title at the San Diego Open, which helped her reach a career-high ranking of world number 24 at the end of that year.
From the outside, everything appeared to be going well for Croft, but just three years later she was no longer a professional tennis player.
Why did Annabel Croft retire from tennis at 21 years old?
In 1988, Croft would officially retire from professional tennis at just 21 years of age.
It was unclear as to why Croft had retired at the time, but in an interview with The Scotsman in 2017, she revealed exactly what had led to the decision.
Croft explained that she had lost her love for playing on the WTA Tour, and revealed that those feelings were reinstated after a conversation with seven-time Grand Slam singles champion John Newcombe.
“I just woke up one day and decided: ‘I don’t want to do this anymore,’” said Croft. “I couldn’t get on the next plane to the next tournament.
“Tennis had been my life since I was really young – nine years old. All I’d ever done was wake up and get into a tracksuit. I needed to put on normal clothes in the mornings and not worry about my backhand.
“I was really unhappy. I wasn’t enjoying tennis at all. I remember my mum saying to me: ‘Your heart’s not in this anymore, is it?’ That was a relief.
“Then [Australian great] John Newcombe gave me a heart-to-heart. He told me I needed to get away to decide whether I really wanted to continue in the game. I already pretty much knew I didn’t.”
While Croft’s desire to be a professional tennis player had dwindled, it appears her love for the sport has not.
Over 37 years on from her retirement, Croft comments on all the Grand Slams as a pundit for Sky Sports and BBC Sport.
The now 59-year-old also conducts some of the on-court interviews at the Wimbledon Championships.