At the mere age of 25, Ash Barty, Australia’s golden girl has retired from the sport of tennis.
What we know is that she pulled out of the Indian Wells in Los Angeles and the Miami Open, two WTA 1000 tournaments following her victory at the Australian Open earlier in the year.
The shock announcement has rocked the sport of tennis but also the sporting world both domestically and globally. While she has retired at such a young age, the 25-year-old has already achieved enough to classify her as one of the greatest tennis players ever.
Barty claimed her first grand slam at the French Open in 2019 beating Markéta Vondroušová 6-1, 6-3. She won Wimbledon two years later against Karolína Plíšková, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3.
With the Australian Open victory against American Danielle Collins with the score reading 6-3, 7-6, it meant Barty won a slam on each surface, being that the US Open and Australian Open are both hard courts.
She will leave the game as the top-ranked women’s player in the world. We still may see Barty on the sporting field in some way saying, “I have always been an athlete in the sense of trying different things but we’ll see how we go.”
While there is no confirmation as to what she may do in the near future, Barty has left on her own terms and must be commended for her actions and as a role model for future generations.
Having played professional cricket and holding a single-figured handicap in golf, there is many options for Barty.
