Time & hindsight

What made you decide to stop something you were known for, and how did you know it was time?

14 answers answered between 2002 and 2026

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Public figures who have answered a question like this elsewhere. Quoted from the source shown, not written for FLAPSS.

Read by field Everyone Arts and letters 4 Politics and public life 1 Business and finance 2 Sport 7
Read by age Any age Before thirty 1 In their thirties 3 In their forties 3 Seventy and beyond 3
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Li Na Chinese professional tennis player, 1999–2014
The task of finally making a decision to hang up my racquet felt a lot more difficult than winning seven matches in a row in the Australian heat. It took me several agonizing months to finally come to the decision that my chronic injuries will never again let me be the tennis player that I can be. Walking away from the sport, effective immediately, is the right decision for me and my family.
Recorded Open letter, 'My dear friends', WTA (archived), 19 September 2014 source ↗
Kobe Bryant United States basketball player, Los Angeles Lakers, 1996–2016
You gave a six-year-old boy his Laker dream And I'll always love you for it. But I can't love you obsessively for much longer. This season is all I have left to give. My heart can take the pounding My mind can handle the grind But my body knows it's time to say goodbye.
Recorded Retirement poem, The Players' Tribune, 29 November 2015 source ↗
Dan Carter New Zealand international rugby union fly-half, 2003–2015
But I'm ready for what's next after rugby. Being able to not just say that, but to truly feel it, is a privilege. Ultimately, getting to leave your sport on your own terms is all you can really hope for as an athlete.
Recorded Retirement letter, The Players' Tribune, 20 February 2021 source ↗

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