Ashleigh Barty was in the kind of tennis form that most players can only dream of. The world number one player has collected two Grand Slam titles in six months. She would become the first Australian player to win the Australian Open in decades. And, at 25, she was ready to pursue many more majors with a style to dominate the women’s circuit.
Then on Wednesday, Brisbane’s 5-foot-5 powerhouse made something even more impressive: She withdrew from tennis at the helm of her game.
“It’s hard to say, but I’m so happy and I’m so ready,” she said. “I just know in my heart that for me as a person this is right.”
Barty’s decision completely took the tennis world by storm. The three-time winner has no publicly known injuries and is playing as well as she has ever done in her short career. By the end of the season at the French Open and Wimbledon – two tournaments she had already won – Barty would have been one of the clear favorites. By leaving now, she could possibly leave some big titles and millions of dollars on the table.
But Barty was never a traditional way of cutting through sports. A talented all-round athlete, she only chose to make her living in tennis after taking a shower in professional cricket this summer after being 18 years old. the tank.
“I know how much work it takes to bring out the best in yourself. And I’ve told my team a few times, I do not have that in me anymore,” said Barty, announcing her announcement in an interview with Australian former pro Casey Dellacqua, who is her good friend and former double partner.
“I just know I’m spent. I just know I physically have nothing left to give.
Barty did not come to the specifics about ongoing physical issues or what she plans to do at an age where most players just get into their prime. She only said that she now would like to “pursue other dreams.”
But her status as a national hero in Australia is already certain. Barty was the one who ended the country’s long major title drought and, wherever she went on tour, always spoke proudly of her Ngaragu heritage. Her retirement on Wednesday prompted a direct tribute from Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
“I want to thank you especially, Ash, for inspiring a generation of young people and especially a generation of young indigenous peoples in this country,” he said.
This is not the first time Barty has left tennis. Their outing in cricket came with a 17-month break from the circuit. She also took an extended break in 2020, when she chose to stay in Australia in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. Even though the tennis tour started again this fall, she stayed in Australia instead of playing the US Open and French Open, in part because of the strict quarantine rules she would have faced on her way back from any trip to Europe or North America.
Instead, she stayed at home, keeping in shape and enjoying her love for other sports. She tried her hand at golf and won a local tournament. (That should have come as no surprise: The first time Barty played 18 holes, she shot 79).
“My friend, I’ll miss you on tour,” former world number one Simona Halep tweeted. “” You were different, and special, and we shared some amazing moments. What’s next for you? Grand Slam Champion in Golf ?! “
When Barty returned, in 2021, she had only one goal in mind, which she called her “a real dream” in tennis. Barty wanted Wimbledon. The adventure required staying four months on the road with her team.
“To be able to play here, you do absolutely everything,” she said in London. “You pray backwards to make sure you can prepare yourself in a way that you can experience Wimbledon.”
The bet paid off. Barty defeated Carolina Pliskova in the final at Center Court to become the first Wimbledon women’s singles champion from Australia since her mentor Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1980. “That really changed my perspective,” she says.
As it turns out, Barty still had a goal in sports. After the victory of Roland-Garros and Wimbledon, she felt as if she had to shoot at the Australian Open once again. Not many athletes can think in these terms at all. But Barty knew it was within her reach.
With her punishing forehand and complicated backhand, she began to create some order in women’s tennis after years of wide open fields. The sport where anyone seems to be a potential champion in any majority finally has someone to fill the vacuum at the top.
Barty hammered the point home in Melbourne in January. During her charming run on her first – and now only – Australian Open title, she spent just under 7.5 hours in court. No one at the Rod Laver Arena knew it at the time, but this was Barty’s goodbye.
“As an Aussie, the most important part of this tournament is to share it with so many people,” she said after beating American Danielle Collins. “This audience, you relaxed me, you forced me to play my best tennis.”
Write to Joshua Robinson at Joshua.Robinson@wsj.com
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