Flavia Pennetta wins US Open 2015

Flavia Pennetta won her first grand slam singles title over Roberta Vinci in an improbable all-Italian US Open final on Saturday then added one more shock to a stunning fortnight by announcing her retirement. With the 7-6(4) 6-2 win, the 33-year-old Pennetta becomes the fourth oldest grand slam winner in the Open Era and joins 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone as the only Italian women to win a major singles title.

But as the celebrations kicked into high gear, Pennetta dropped a bombshell that provided a dramatic finish to the year’s final grand slam and her career. After embracing childhood friend and Fed Cup team mate Vinci at the net a smiling Pennetta stood at center court during the trophy presentation and told a capacity crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium that included Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi that she would retire.

“This is the way I would like to say goodbye to tennis,” she said before hoisting the trophy and accepting the $3.3 million winner’s check. “I’m really happy. It’s what all the players seem to want to do, to go out with this big trophy.