In an interview with former doubles partner and good friend Casey Dellacqua, Ash Barty has announced her retirement from the sport of tennis. The news broke last night as a shock to many. Barty had not played since the Australian Open, citing the need to recover physically after her title in Melbourne Park. She was expected to play in the Billie Jean King Cup early next month for Team Australia.
In the video, she mentions she has other dreams she wants to pursue that are away from not only tennis but from traveling the world as well. She enjoys being with her family and at home and that it's time for her to enjoy the next phase of her as "Ash Barty the person, not Ash Barty the athlete".
A Different Kind Of "Break"
In the video, Barty acknowledges after saying she will retire that she has "done this before but in a very different feeling". After the 2014 US Open, she took a hiatus from tennis because "it was too much too quickly for me as I've been traveling from quite a young age... I wanted to experience life as a normal teenage girl and have some normal experiences."
She then went on to play cricket for the Western Suburbs District Cricket Club, a local team that competes in Brisbane's Women's Premier Cricket Twenty20 league. After that, she played for the Brisbane Heat, who were a part of the inaugural Women's Big Bash League.
Out On Top
At just age 25, the Aussie is leaving the sport at the highest point, having won her home major, the Australian Open, and at world number one.
Barty leaves the sport with a glittering resume which will see her inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island. She has won 27 career titles combined, with 15 of those titles coming in singles. Of those 15 titles, 3 of them came at the majors (French Open, Wimbledon, and Australian Open). Barty's reign at world number one has lasted at 120 total weeks, with 113 of those coming consecutively.