Late Friday night, former world No. 1 female badminton player Tai Tzu-ying officially announced her decision to hang up her racket via social media, drawing to a close a professional career that has spanned over half of her 31 years of life.
羽球前世界球后戴資穎在週五（11月7日）晚間透過社群媒體宣布退休，為她超過31年人生一半以上的職業生涯劃下句點。
The decision came both as expected and as a surprise.
這項決定既在意料之中，卻同時令人感到意外。
It was expected because, prior to the announcement, Tai had made it clear that the 2024 season would be her last, and she had not competed in any tournament since losing to Denmark’s Julie Jakobsen in the round of 32 at the China Open in mid-September 2024.
意料之中，是因為戴資穎先前已表明2024賽季將是她的最後一季，且自去年9月在中國公開賽32強不敵丹麥選手朱莉．雅可布森後，她便未再參賽。
She applied for ranking protection that October for three months but did not extend it afterward, and her world ranking fell from No. 5 in October 2024 to zero ranking points by September this year.
她於同年10月申請為期三個月的世界排名保護，但之後並未延長，使得她的世界排名從2024年10月的第五名降至今年9月的零積分。
However, her decision was also a surprise to many, given her achievements and stature in the sport -- a plain farewell that stood in stark contrast to her brilliant career.
然而，考量到她在羽球界的成就與地位，這樣的作法仍令許多人感到意外─平淡低調的道別與她輝煌的生涯形成鮮明對比。
Tai became the first Taiwanese badminton player to win the BWF Super Series Finals in 2014 -- the precursor to the BWF World Tour Finals established in 2018 -- and she went on to dominate the women’s singles rankings for a record total of 214 weeks between December 2016 and September 2022.
戴資穎於2014年成為首位奪下世界羽聯超級系列賽總決賽冠軍的台灣選手─該賽事是2018年設立的世界羽聯世界巡迴賽總決賽的前身─並在2016年12月至2022年9月間，稱霸女子單打世界排名第一長達214週，創下紀錄。
British badminton commentator Gillian Clark once compared Tai’s stature in badminton to that of Michael Jordan in basketball, Tiger Woods in golf and Muhammad Ali in boxing, describing her as “the best women’s singles player I’ve ever had the privilege to watch.”
英國羽球評論員吉莉安．克拉克曾將戴資穎在羽壇的地位比擬為籃球的麥可．喬丹、高爾夫的老虎．伍茲與拳擊的穆罕默德．阿里，並稱她為「我有幸觀賞過的最出色的女子單打選手」。
For a player like Tai, a farewell match or tour would have seemed well-deserved.
對於像戴資穎這樣的選手而言，一場引退賽或巡迴謝幕賽絕對是當之無愧的。
However, as Tai explained on social media, she chose to bid farewell this way because “I don’t want you to see me in such a weak form (crying emoji), so I couldn’t give you a perfect retirement ceremony.”
然而，如同戴資穎在社群媒體上所說，她之所以選擇這樣的方式告別，是因為「我也不想讓大家看見那麼脆弱的我（哭臉表情），所以我沒辦法給大家一個完美的退役儀式」。
This sense of imperfection, as Tai called it, somehow reflects her career: dominant as she was, she never captured a gold medal in the four Olympic Games or eight World Championships she contested.
這份她所說的「不完美感」某種程度上也呼應了她的生涯─儘管她的世界排名長期高居第一，卻未能在她所參加的四屆奧運與八屆世錦賽中奪得金牌。
She won her only Olympic medal -- a silver in Tokyo -- and finished runner-up and third at the 2021 and 2022 World Championships, respectively.
她唯一的奧運獎牌是東京奧運的銀牌，並分別在2021年及2022年的世錦賽獲得亞軍與季軍。
When asked by a reporter about her lack of titles on the biggest stages, she responded: “What else do I need to prove?” -- and few could argue otherwise.
曾有記者問她至今在最高殿堂仍未能奪冠，她反問道：「我還需要證明什麼嗎？」─對此卻也幾乎沒人能反駁。
Over the past decade, Tai has cemented her status as Taiwan’s most iconic athlete.
過去10年期間，戴資穎早已奠定她作為台灣最具代表性運動員的地位。
If anything, Tai has continuously displayed her greatness in ways that transcend the court and national boundaries.
如果有什麼值得稱道之處，那就是戴資穎始終展現出超越勝負和國界的偉大。
In 2017, when she was ranked world No. 1, she chose to compete in the 29th Summer Universiade in Taipei rather than the BWF World Championships, which were held at the same time.
2017年，當時她雖然位居世界第一卻仍選擇參加在台北舉行的第29屆世界大學運動會，而非同期舉辦的世界羽球錦標賽。
“I gave up the World Championships and chose the Universiade because it’s one of the few chances Taiwan hosts an event of this scale. I felt I had to stay here and support this event with other athletes, hopefully keeping golds in Taiwan,” she said in an official Universiade video.
她在世大運官方影片中表示：「我這次會選擇世大運、放棄世錦賽的原因是因為，我覺得台灣很難得辦一個大型的運動賽會，我覺得我必須要留下來，跟著其他選手一起去支持這個比賽，希望把金牌留在台灣。」
“I want to let Taiwan be seen on the international stage. I think showing Taiwan to the world is a very beautiful thing,” she said.
她說：「我想要讓台灣在世界舞台上被看見，我覺得向世界展現台灣是一件非常美好的事。」
At the same time, she weaved her rivalries with top international players -- including members of the so-called ‘Fab Four’ (Chen Yufei, An Se-young, and Akane Yamaguchi) as well as Pusarla V. Sindhu of India and Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand -- into some of the sport’s most memorable chapters, all while nurturing friendships that endured beyond competition.
同時，她與世界頂尖選手之間的對決─包括所謂「羽壇F4」的陳雨菲、安洗瑩、山口茜，以及印度的辛度和泰國的依瑟儂─也編織出羽壇最難忘的篇章之一，並在競爭之外建立了長久的友誼。
In an interview, China’s Chen Yufei, who beat Tai in the Tokyo Olympic final and later took a break from competition, said she was surprised to receive a message from Tai expressing concern and respect for her decisions.
曾在東京奧運決賽擊敗戴資穎、後來暫別賽場的中國選手陳雨菲在接受訪問時表示，她在休息期間很意外地收到一則戴資穎傳來的訊息，並對她表示關心與尊重她的決定。
“It dawned on me what [Tai] truly means to me,” Chen said in the interview with a Chinese magazine earlier this year. “If there is one person who made me the Chen Yufei I am today, it must be Tai Tzu-ying.”
陳雨菲在今年稍早接受中國雜誌訪問時說：「我也真的開始明白她對我的意義。如果說，有一個人成就了我，讓我變成今天的陳雨菲，那一定是戴資穎。」
Likewise, Sindhu wrote an emotional note on Instagram after Tai’s announcement Friday night.
週五晚戴資 穎宣布退休後，辛度同樣於Instagram上寫下一段感性的文字。
“I won’t hide it: I hated playing you. Your wristwork, your deception, your calm brilliance made me dig deeper than I ever imagined I could. Facing you changed me as an athlete,” she wrote, adding that their “quiet friendship” over the years went “beyond rivalry.”
「我不否認─我討厭對到你。你運用手腕的技巧、你的假動作，還有你那沉著的光彩將我逼得遠超我所能想像的努力。與你對戰改變了我作為一名運動員的樣子」，她寫道，並補充她們多年來「靜謐的友誼」早已「超越賽場上的競爭關係」。
“Watching you step away feels like losing a piece of my own journey. The sport will miss your magic, and so will I. It’s starting to hit me that my generation of players [is] slowly beginning to step away, and nothing really prepares you for that,” Sindhu wrote.
「看著你的離去，我感到我旅程的一部分已然消逝。羽球會想念你的魔法，而我亦是如此。我開始意識到，我這一代的選手正慢慢自賽場退去，但我還沒準備好面對這件事情」，辛度寫道。
At this moment, it is hard to tell whether anyone will match, or surpass, Tai’s legacy in the years to come. South Korea’s An Se-young may have the potential, but only time will tell.
對於未來是否有人能追平或超越戴資穎的成就，目前仍言之過早。南韓的安洗瑩或許具備潛力，但仍有待時間驗證。
For Tai’s fans, it is better to appreciate what she has brought to badminton and relive the memories she created with her peers on and off the court.
對於戴資穎的球迷而言，與其預測未來，現在不如欣賞她為羽球帶來的一切，重溫她與她的對手在場上與場下留下的美好回憶。
字詞解釋
hang up one’s racket（片語）→字面 意為「掛起球拍」，表示運動員退休、結束運動生涯。例句：After winning three championships, she decided to hang up her racket. 奪下三座冠軍後，她決定高掛球拍。
cement one’s status（片語）→確立某人的地位、身分。例句：It is widely believed that a professional athlete’s best way to cement their historical status is by winning championships – the more the better. 人們普遍相信職業運動員確立自己歷史地位的最佳方法就是贏得冠軍，而且多多益善。
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