UConn women's basketball and WNBA legend Tina Charles announces retirement

Emily Adams, Hartford Courant on May 5, 2026

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HARTFORD, Conn. — UConn legend Tina Charles ended her remarkable career in quiet fashion on Tuesday morning, releasing a statement on her social media accounts announcing her retirement from professional basketball.

Charles concludes her 15-year career as one of the greatest centers in WNBA history, finishing as the league’s all-time leader in rebounds (4,262), double-doubles (201) and made field goals (3,364). She is second all-time in scoring (8,396 points) behind only fellow UConn great Diana Taurasi.

“It was all a dream, that’s the thought that keeps finding me,” Charles opened her statement. “That, and deep gratitude. God has covered my life in ways I can’t fully put into words, and by his grace and mercy, I’ve been able to live out something bigger than I ever imagined.”

Charles was the 2012 WNBA MVP, a nine-time All-WNBA selection, an eight-time All-Star and a three-time All-Defensive team member. She led the WNBA in rebounding every season from 2010-12 and again in ’16, and she led the league in scoring in 2016 and ’21. Charles was also a three-time Olympic gold medalist with Team USA from 2012-20.

“Tina Charles has defined excellence and consistency throughout one of the most remarkable careers in WNBA history,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement. “On behalf of the WNBA, I want to thank Tina for her lasting contributions to the league and the sport of basketball. Her legacy will be defined not only by her excellence on the court, but by the standard she set as a leader, a teammate and a champion for the communities she touched.”

Charles, a Queens, N.Y. native, played for the iconic high school girls basketball program at Christ the King before signing with UConn in 2006. Charles had a prolific college career, leading UConn to back-to-back undefeated NCAA championships in 2009 and ’10. Charles was the Most Outstanding Player of the 2009 tournament, then went on to win the Naismith Trophy, Wooden Award, AP Player of the Year and U.S. Basketball Writers Association Player of the Year awards as a senior in 2010.

Charles was a three-time All-American and first-team all-Big East selection, and she remains UConn’s career record holder in rebounds with 1,367. She is fifth on the program’s all-time scoring list with 2,346 points, and she also ranks top five in made field goals, field goal percentage and blocks.

Charles began her WNBA career close to home when she was selected No. 1 overall by the Connecticut Sun in the 2010 WNBA draft. She was the first No. 1 pick in franchise history and won Rookie of the Year as well as second-team All-WNBA honors in her first season. Charles spent four years with the Sun before she was traded to the New York Liberty ahead of the 2014 season in a blockbuster deal that gave the Sun New York’s first-round picks in 2014 and 2015 plus 2013 first-round pick Kelsey Bone.

Charles played for the Liberty from 2014-19 and left the franchise as its all-time leading scorer. She was medically excused from the 2020 WNBA season held amid the COVID-19 pandemic due to extrinsic asthma, then returned to the league with the Washington Mystics in 2021. She bounced around several teams in the latter years of her career, playing 16 games with the Phoenix Mercury in 2022 before agreeing to a contract divorce with the franchise and signing with the Seattle Storm for the final 18 games of the season. She went unsigned as a free agent in 2023, then returned to the league for a season with the Atlanta Dream in 2024.

Charles played her final WNBA season where it started, with the Connecticut Sun. She signed a one-year deal with the franchise that drafted her in 2025 and averaged 16.3 points and 5.8 rebounds last year.

“At some point, you have to edit your life. Not everything and not everyone is meant for the whole journey,” Charles said in her statement Tuesday. “Growth requires honesty, and for me, that means recognizing when my impact was being called in a new direction. That’s not failure, that’s clarity. I’m at peace with this decision, aligned with what I’m being called to do next, making space for someone else to step in and grow the way I once did.”