Carolina Marín, one of the greatest ever badminton players, retired on Thursday (March 26, 2026) after the Spaniard couldn’t fully recover from a third serious knee injury.

Marín, 32, said in a social media post that “my journey in professional badminton has come to an end.”

Marín is the only woman from outside Asia to win the Olympic singles when she won gold at Rio de Janeiro in 2016. She was also the first woman to win three world championships, was ranked No. 1 for a record 66 weeks, and took a record seven European championships.

She has not competed since the 2024 Paris Olympics when she tore the ACL in her right knee for a second time during the semifinals. She was winning that match until she collapsed in agony on the court. Marin tried a knee brace but lasted only two more points. She was too injured to play the bronze medal match.

“I actually did go out while on the court, in Paris in 2024, but we just didn’t know it at that time,” Marín said on Thursday.

She first tore the ACL in her right knee in 2019. She recovered but ruptured the ACL in her left knee and was unable to defend her Olympic title at Tokyo in 2021.

Marin came from behind to beat Olympic champion Li Xuerui in the final of the 2014 worlds, retained the title in 2015 and achieved an unprecedented third crown in 2018. She wasn’t match until last year by Akane Yamaguchi.

Marín made the retirement announcement before the European championship to be held in her hometown of Huelva, Spain, next month.

“I wanted us to see each other for one last time on the court,” she said, “but not if it meant putting my body at risk.”