Flavia Pennetta retires after winning U.S. Open

Talk about going out on top: Flavia Pennetta won the U.S. Open for her first Grand Slam title at age 33, and then announced during the trophy ceremony she has decided to retire. Pennetta (right in photo) defeated Roberta Vinci (left), pulling away in a matchup of Italians who were opponents and doubles partners as kids. In one of the unlikeliest major finals in women’s tennis history, the 26th-seeded Pennetta beat Vinci 7-6 (4), 6-2 at Flushing Meadows on Saturday – then revealed she was ready to hang up her racket, a decision she kept private until that moment. “This is how I say goodbye to tennis,” Pennetta said as her fiance, tennis player Fabio Fognini, captured the scene with his phone’s camera. “I couldn’t think to finish in a better way.” – Associated Press