Amélie Mauresmo reacts during a news conference announcing her retirement from tennis on Thursday. (Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images)

Two-time Grand Slam champion Amélie Mauresmo retired from tennis Thursday, saying she no longer has a burning desire for competition.

The 30-year-old French star, a former top-ranked player who finished this year at No. 21, said she doesn't have the will to keep playing at the highest level.

"I don't want to train anymore," Mauresmo said in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France, after shedding tears about the decision. "I had to make a decision, which became evident in the last few months and weeks. When you grew older, it's more difficult to stay at the top."

Mauresmo, who won both of her Grand Slam titles in 2006, at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, said she was happy to leave on a good note after winning her 25th singles title — her first in almost two years — in Paris this season.

"It's a bit sad, but this is the right decision," Mauresmo said. "I was lucky enough to have an exceptional career and to experience very strong feelings on the court."

Mauresmo, who was ranked No. 1 for five weeks in 2004 and again for 34 weeks in 2006, played her last match in the second round of this year's U.S. Open, losing to Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak 6-4, 6-0. She then pulled out of her last two tournaments of the year.

"It became very hard in buildup to the U.S. Open," Mauresmo said. "If I were able to enter the court, play and shine, of course I could continue, but to achieve this you need to put in such hard work. And I'm not capable of that."

No regrets

Mauresmo said she has no regrets and feels very proud when she looks back at a career that started in 1993.

"I dreamt of this career. I dreamt of winning a Grand Slam title," she said. "I lifted trophies in every city in the world and I lived 10 magical and unbelievable years."

Mauresmo, who said she decided to play tennis after watching Yannick Noah win the 1983 French Open, became the first player from France — male or female — to reach No. 1, on Sept. 13, 2004.

But she was never able to emulate Noah's feat of winning on the clay at Roland Garros. She failed to go beyond the quarter-finals at the Grand Slam tournament in Paris, where she struggled to withstand the pressure in front of her home crowd.

Mauresmo, whose backhand delighted tennis aficionados around the world, also won the Fed Cup with France in 2003 and the WTA Tour championship in 2005. She won the Olympic silver medal in Athens in 2004.

"Amélie will go down in history as one of the best players of her generation and a terrific ambassador for women's tennis," WTA Tour chairman Stacey Allaster said. "Amélie is an extraordinary player, one of the nicest and friendliest personalities on Tour, and a true champion both in tennis and in life."

Asked about a possible comeback, the Frenchwoman said her decision was definitive.

"Even if I've learned to never say never," Mauresmo said. "The players you are thinking about stopped earlier than me before coming back."

Former No. 1-ranked player Justine Henin confirmed in October she'll make her return to the WTA Tour at the Brisbane International — two weeks before the Australian Open. Kim Clijsters won the U.S. Open in September after coming back from two years in retirement.