Ash Barty did things on her own terms as she won three Grand Slam singles titles and spent more than two consecutive years at No.1 in the women’s tennis rankings.
She retired on her own terms, too. At the age of 25, just two months after winning the Australian Open title.
The announcement stunned the tennis world on Wednesday. “I just know at the moment, in my heart, for me as a person, this is right,” Barty said, her voice shaky at times, during a six-minute video posted on Instagram on Wednesday in Australia.
Looking ahead
Saying it was time to “chase other dreams,” Barty, who announced her engagement to trainee golf professional Garry Kissick in November, said she no longer feels compelled to do what she knows is required to be the best she can be at tennis. “It’s the first time I’ve actually said it out loud and, yeah, it’s hard to say,” Barty said during an informal interview with her former doubles partner, Casey Dellacqua.
“I don’t have the physical drive, the emotional want and everything it takes to challenge yourself at the very top level any more. I am spent.”
Not the first time…
This is not the first time Barty walked away from tennis: She was the Wimbledon junior champion at age 15 in 2011, presaging a promising professional career, but left the tour entirely for nearly two years in 2014 because of burnout, overwhelmed by the pressure and travel required.
She played professional cricket in Australia, then eventually picked up a racket once again. Barty went on to win singles major championships on three different surfaces—on clay at the 2019 French Open, on grass at Wimbledon last year and on the hard courts of Melbourne Park in January, becoming the first Australian player in 44 years to triumph at the nation’s Grand Slam.
Her announcement was all the more stunning: Barty had won 25 of her last 26 matches and three of her past four events.
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