"I lost more then 6 kilograms when I ceased with the top sport. That were all muscles. They are now gone"
About this Quote
Retirement is supposed to be freedom; Sabatini makes it sound like amputation. The blunt math of "more then 6 kilograms" lands like a receipt from a past life, proof that elite sport doesn’t just shape your schedule, it engineers your body. And the kicker - "That were all muscles. They are now gone" - turns the usual glow of athletic legacy into something eerily disposable. Not trophies. Not memories. Muscle, vanished.
Coming from a tennis icon whose public image was built on physical elegance and relentless discipline, the line reads less like vanity than a quiet identity shake. Athletes are trained to treat the body as both instrument and billboard: it performs, it signals seriousness, it reassures fans that greatness is still present tense. When the training stops, the body doesn’t just soften; it edits the story, and Sabatini is acknowledging that edit in real time.
The phrasing matters. It’s unpolished, almost awkward English, which strips away PR shine and gives the confession a diary-like immediacy. There’s no motivational spin, no "new chapter" framing. Just loss, quantified. The subtext is about control: in sport, even pain is managed. Post-sport, the body starts making decisions without your permission.
She’s also puncturing the myth that retirement is a clean break. The arena may be behind you, but your physique - the most visible evidence of your past - keeps renegotiating who you are.
Coming from a tennis icon whose public image was built on physical elegance and relentless discipline, the line reads less like vanity than a quiet identity shake. Athletes are trained to treat the body as both instrument and billboard: it performs, it signals seriousness, it reassures fans that greatness is still present tense. When the training stops, the body doesn’t just soften; it edits the story, and Sabatini is acknowledging that edit in real time.
The phrasing matters. It’s unpolished, almost awkward English, which strips away PR shine and gives the confession a diary-like immediacy. There’s no motivational spin, no "new chapter" framing. Just loss, quantified. The subtext is about control: in sport, even pain is managed. Post-sport, the body starts making decisions without your permission.
She’s also puncturing the myth that retirement is a clean break. The arena may be behind you, but your physique - the most visible evidence of your past - keeps renegotiating who you are.
Quote Details
| Topic | Sports |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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