I was a Wimbledon finalist at 18 and had razor blades put in my trainers but quit sport to become a

Many athletes forced to retire from professional sport due to injuries then embark on unexpected careers in other industries.

But whilst some ex-pros will forever wonder what their career could've been, one now feels she can express her love for life more than ever before thanks to her new focus in life - swapping her tennis gear for a habit to become a nun.

After turning pro at the age of just 14, Andrea Jaeger quickly rose to be ranked the world's No.2 female tennis player at 16.

The American defeated almost all the top-ranked tennis stars, most notably winning the French Open alongside Jimmy Arias in mixed doubles in 1981 as well as being a three-time US Open semi-finalist.

She also reached the final of Wimbledon at 18, losing 6-1, 6-1 to Martina Navratilova.

However just one year on from her impressive run at the All England Club, a shoulder injury forced her to hang up her racket.

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Jaeger, now 58, immediately switched her focus to going to college to study theology and ministry training before eventually becoming a nun.

"I just knew that God existed and that we were friends and had a personal relationship," she told The Mail in 2008. "None of my family knew I prayed every day of my life.

"In August 2006, I received an associate degree in Ministry Training and Theology. Then I entered a Dominican Sisterhood Programme.

"It's a strict discipline. I wake at 4am, do my prayers and my spiritual study, then I start work at 5am or 6am fund-raising, scheduling programmes and running those programmes.

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"We have something happening for children somewhere in the world every day."

When asked if her religious clothing is a permanent fixture, she said: "How often I wear the nun's habit depends on what I'm doing. I have three of them. They get dirty pretty fast.

"I keep getting the robes stuck in buses and escalators. Once I jumped in a cab and left half of it outside the door. The first week I wore it, at a huge global conference in New York City. A bird went to the bathroom on me.

"I thought that was God's way of saying, 'Maybe it's OK to be a little muddy on the edges – you're the one who used to dive for balls on the tennis court.'

"I believe I'll always be a Sister. I have a joy and love of life and it's easier to express that in this field."

Since retiring, Jaeger has revealed she was sexually harassed by an unnamed WTA staff member.

She also had her tennis kit destroyed when on tour and her experiences caused her to avoid the locker rooms when playing in a Wimbledon legends game in 2019.

"I had situations where I’d go to get my racket and the strings would be cut," she told the Independent.

"When I went to put on my shoes, someone had left razor blades inside them."

Now though, Jaeger is focusing on creating positivity in the world and has done ever since she quit tennis.

After calling time on her career she sold her car, her jewellery and watches and made charitable donations before setting up her own foundation.

She started by running activity programmes for children with cancer.

Now 37 years on, the Little Star Foundation offers long-term care to ill and neglected children across the US.

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I was a Wimbledon finalist at 18 and had razor blades put in my trainers but quit sport to become a

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