Erakovic retires with stylish self- send off video

Marina Erakovic became the latest pro player to retire this season and she did so with a flourish.

In a move straight out of *Love Actually*, the Yugoslavia-born Kiwi help up text-laden cue cards for her rapt social media audiences, swiftly signaling her retirement as she sported a hoodie from sponsor Fila.

The one-minute clip made for an engaging way to bow out of the game so gracefully, and it came replete with the 30-year-old dodging a tennis racquet tossed at her head and running toward the surf on a beach whilst 'NSYNC's hit "Bye Bye Bye" played over the footage. It made for a perfect year-2000 soundtrack for a thoroughly millennial player.

Erakovic saw more success in doubles than singles play over the course of her career, but she found a good measure of it in both. She topped out at No. 39 in singles (in 2012) and No. 24 in doubles (in 2013), with one tour-level title flying solo and eight in tandem action. She also netted 18 ITF-level titles over time and was ultimately done in, most likely, due to injury. Erakovic missed the entirety of the 2018 season after injury curtailed her 2017 campaign.

She begged off telling of her next exploit, but it could be that Erakovic, a music aficionado, wants to focus on her next career phase. She hasn't just slapped tennis balls, after all. She's a bona fide musician to boot.

Peers including Andrea Petkovic and Bethanie-Mattek Sands saluted Erakovic. The former commented on her Instagram post, "This is the coolest way to retire EVER," with the latter responding, "I second this." A recently retired Aussie, Casey Dellacqua, chimed in as well, saying, "Congratulations mate on a fabulous career. I enjoyed our battles over the years and I always enjoyed our chats. see ya soon over the water neighbor."

Erakovic joins a spate of 2018 retirees, including Dellacqua, Bojana Jovanovski, Agnieszka Radwanska, Max Mirnyi, Daniel Nestor and more. In the words from Love Actually, love may mean nothing in tennis, but this remains: Love is all around.

Follow Jon on Twitter @jonscott9.