Petrissa SOLJA is quitting pofessional table tennis at the age of 28. It is the end of a picture-perfect career but as she emphasises not a retirement in the heat of the moment. The step was well-considered the decision matured over many weeks. After 51 international matches for Germany it is the end of her career in the national team and also in Bundesliga. For ten years “Peti” SOLJA was an indispensable part of the German national team. In 2016 she won Olympic silver with the team. In 2017 and 2019 she took World Cup bronze in mixed. She came third at the prestigious World Cup in Japan in 2015. She brought home three gold medals from the European Games won the Europe Top 16 twice and reached the final two additional times. Among her eight European Championships’ medals six are golden. She won the well-deserved individual title at the 2020/21 continental championships in Warsaw. She had already become the German individual champion in 2015 and had previously won everything there was to win in Germany and Europe in her junior years. Fantastic feeling for the ball brillant understanding of the game great fighting spirit She was one of the few Europeans who could even threaten the leading Chinese players. The lefty thrilled the fans with her fantastic feeling for the ball her very good understading of the game and her impeccable technique paired with a great fighting spirit. In 2015 for example “the backhand boss” literally ran from table to table at the German Open reached the final in three competitions – U21 singles women’s doubles and singles. In the end she won two titles. She thus played a total of 15 matches in the Bremen Arena and won 14.  The WTT Champions Tournament in Hungary in July was to be her last international appearance. She had to cancel her participation in the home European Championships in Munich in August because an old injury to her intervertebral disc had reappeared. During the compulsory break she had a lot of time to think she says. And after 25 years with the fastest racket sport on earth she realised for the first time that “I didn’t miss table tennis at all. I am now ready for something new”. On tischtennis.de Petrissa Solja explains her motives in detail: Petrissa SOLJA: “I am ending my career. I am very relieved and looking forward to my next stage in life. It was a long process until I made this decision. It was definitely not a decision in the heat of the moment. Table tennis has been my life for as long as I can remember. In the oldest table tennis photo I am one and a half years old. When I was three I stood on tiptoe to be able to look over the table. When I was five I was finally tall enough. When I was twelve I became the German U15 girls singles Champion for the first time without losing a single game. When I was 14 I started playing in the 1st Bundesliga. It went on and on up for me. I always did all my work conscientiously and with all my heart. But now I have listened to my heart and realised: I need a radical cut. I’m no longer playing in the national team or the Bundesliga. I have always been consistent. Either I do one thing 100 per cent or not at all. I have achieved everything I can in sport and in some cases even the impossible. I have won medals at the Olympic Games European Games World Championships at the World Cup at the Europe Top 16 the German National Championships in singles and most recently I also became the European champion in women’s singles. I am also a multiple national champion at club level and a three-time Champions League winner. My collection is complete. What could still come now would be retakes. Successes for life My career has progressed step by step since I was a child. Of course I had big dreams but I tried to approach them with small steps. I have understood that I have great potential and can achieve great success. But everything starts with the first small step. What was the moment I will never forget? There were so many beautiful moments. Many will find it unusual but: in my mind when I ask myself this question the day when I became the German Champion in women’s singles immediately comes to mind. As a little girl I never thought of becoming an Olympic or World Champion. As a young player the German Championships were much more tangible for me. It is difficult to win this title. To succeed everything has to be absolutely perfect on this single weekend. It was a great moment for me to win there. By the way I was also really proud of the really big and really heavy trophy as German U15 girls singles Champion. It still has a special place in my trophy collection. I also had many great memories with my teammates in doubles and mixed doubles. I always enjoyed to play World Team Championships. That was my favourite tournament because it was always super fun. I enjoyed competing with my team. We always hoped for a medal with our national team but we were never the favourite. At World Team Championships I was able to perform really well and I like to remember the 2016 World Championships in Kuala Lumpur for example. We sensationally beat Japan and South Korea there. The 2013 European Championships in Schwechat too are on my mind. I was already able to play really well but I was still young and had to learn a lot. Nevertheless Sabine Winter and I managed to win the doubles title in addition to team gold. We had already won the doubles title the year before at the German Open in Bremen in 2012 and the hall was rocking. I loved