London, Dec 1 (IANS): Three-time Grand Slam semi finalist and former World No.4 Britains Johanna Konta has announced her retirement from professional tennis on Wednesday. Konta posted a message about her retirement on Instagram.

"Grateful: This is the word that I've probably used the most during my career, and is the word that I feel explains it best at the end," she wrote.

"My playing career has come to an end, and I am so incredibly grateful for the career that it turned out to be. All the evidence pointed towards me not 'making' it in this profession. However, my luck materialised in the people that came into my life and impacted my existence in ways that transcended tennis. I am so incredibly grateful for these people. You know who you are."

"Through my own resilience and through the guidance of others, I got to live my dreams. I got to become what I wanted and said as a child. How incredibly fortunate I count myself to be. How grateful I am," WTA posted Konta's statement on their website.

The Briton was a four-time WTA champion, with her biggest title coming at the Miami Open in 2017, where she defeated Simona Halep, Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki in the last three rounds.

Konta also lifted the trophies at Stanford 2016, Sydney 2017 and Nottingham 2021 - the latter her first title on home soil at a tournament where she had lost two previous finals. In addition, she was twice a WTA 1000 runner-up, at Beijing 2016 and Rome 2019.