By ALAN THATCHER
American international Gilly Lane today announced his retirement from the PSA Tour on Facebook.
The 26-year-old from Philadelphia has been out of action for several months with a painful back injury that has clearly not responded to treatment.
His world ranking had slipped from a high of 48 to 92 and he felt the time was right to explore new career options.
He had spent a lot of time working in the Netherlands in a bid to improve his performances but his ambitions were cruelly cut short by an injury in July.
Gilly is a popular guy on tour and will be sorely missed from the court and locker rooms. Following his announcement, his Facebook page was crammed with messages of support from friends and fellow players from all over the world.
Here’s what he said:
It’s been a tough couple months struggling with this back problem and today is even tougher. I have decided to retire from the PSA Tour due to the injury I suffered in July. I think the time is right to begin to pursue other avenues and start the next phase of my life.
I want to thank Tommy Berden, Lucas Buit, Floris Minnaert, John White, Natalie Grinham for their coaching and constant support. Thanks to US Squash for their backing and efforts to put us in the right position to succeed.
Also LJ Anjema and Cameron Pilley for being great friends and role models and my parents and family for their endearing support. It wouldn’t have been possible without my family and I owe them everything.