By Mai Yoshikawa, KYODO NEWS - Sep 7, 2017 - 21:57 | Sports, All

Having defied age and the odds, former world No. 4 Kimiko Date admitted Thursday it was time to do one thing she is not used to doing: quit.

"I wouldn't quit if I didn't have to," said Date, who is drawing the curtain on a tennis career that spanned almost 17 years, including the seven years before her first retirement.

"There's a part of me that says I shouldn't go on, and another part of me that says I might still have a chance. But I've always given 100 percent like any athlete should, and I have no regrets."

Date recently announced she will make her final appearance in next week's Japan Women's Open at Ariake Tennis Forest Park, a few days short of her 47th birthday.

On a rainy Thursday, she held a press conference at the court in Ariake, where she explained that one reason she chose Tokyo for her final curtain call was because she regretted originally walking away from the game in New York, despite Japanese fans wanting a farewell tribute.

When asked whether fans can expect her to return to competitive action for a third time, Date replied with her characteristic dimpled grin.

"No, there won't be a third career," she said. "But who knows? I may play really well in the upcoming tournament and I may decide not to retire. But I doubt that will happen."

Date had repeatedly brushed aside retirement talks in recent years, but nagging pain in her knee and shoulders has prompted her doctors, on more than one occasion, to ask her to retire. And this time, she listened.

"Maintaining the balance between my mental and physical health has become really difficult. The pain comes and goes, and right now the medication is helping me. But it's not getting any better, that's for sure. I don't even know which bothers me more anymore, the knee or the shoulders," she said.

As her decision to return to the court to compete against players young enough to be her daughters after retiring once in 1996 shows, giving up has never been her thing.

In 2008, nearly 12 years after her retirement, Date made an unexpected comeback, starting what she calls her "second career."

In 2009, she became the second-oldest player in the modern era to win a WTA singles title when she conquered the Hansol Korea Open in Seoul.

Date's last singles title was in 2012, when she won three tournaments -- all in the lower-level ITF circuit. In 2013, she won three doubles titles on the WTA Tour.

Over her career, she won eight WTA singles titles and reached the singles semifinals in three of the four Grand Slam tourneys -- the Australian Open, the French Open and Wimbledon. Her best U.S. Open finish was in the last eight.

Looking back on her career, which also included appearances in the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, Date said her non-tour Fed Cup match against world No. 1 Steffi Graf at Ariake Coliseum in 1996 stands out as one of the most memorable events.

At her athletic peak in the 1990s, Date said it was rare for Japanese athletes to compete abroad, and the competitive environment was so different from what it is today that managing the psychological demands was such a challenge.

"Hideo Nomo in baseball and Ayako Okamoto in golf were about the only other Japanese competing overseas. In the 90s, I didn't know how to deal with the media, I just thought about winning and I was always exhausted," said Date.

"But when I started for the second time, it wasn't just about winning. The daily challenges were enjoyable. I didn't need to see good results to feel a sense of accomplishment. Things changed in me, and that's why I was able to continue for nine and a half years."

Unlike the days following her first retirement, when she said she wanted to stay away from tennis and do anything other than swing a racket, Date said this time she is more positive about her decision to step away from the game.

"I don't think there has been an athlete as blessed as I am. To be given two chances in my career -- the first when I competed against top-level players, and the second when I made it to the top-50 playing in my late 30s and early 40s. It was something I never thought possible."

Date said it will be sad she won't be seeing the same faces on the tour -- on court and off court -- but she tries to look on the bright side by telling herself tennis will always be a part of her life.

"At this point I don't know what I'll be doing after I retire. For now I'm focused on the Japan Women's Open. When that's over I'm sure I'll have to worry about my shoulders. Then little by little I'll start thinking about what I want to do and what I can do."

Date has been awarded a wildcard entry to the Sept. 11-17 tournament, a response to a request she said she made before she knew she would be retiring, and will play her opening match on Tuesday.