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World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty shocked the tennis world when she announced her retirement from the sport on Wednesday.
Barty's success at the start of the season gave no indication of what was to come. She started the year by winning the singles and doubles titles at the Adelaide International. At the Australian Open, the Aussie won her third Grand Slam title in style; she didn't drop a set and lost serve just three times in one of the most remarkable title runs in history.
She then withdrew from the Indian Wells Open and the Miami Open citing fatigue and on 23 March rocked the tennis world by calling time on her career.
"Today is difficult and filled with emotion for me as I announce my retirement from tennis," Barty said. "I wasn’t sure how to share this news with you so I asked my good friend @caseydellacqua to help me. I am so thankful for everything this sport has given me and leave feeling proud and fulfilled. Thank you to everyone who has supported me along the way, I’ll always be grateful for the lifelong memories that we created together."
In an Instagram post, Ashleigh Barty stated that she's stepping away from tennis for good this time. At just 25 years of age and in the form of her life, the news of her retirement was met with disbelief. But the Australian is incredibly self-aware and has always lived life on her own terms.
As the initial shock of her retirement wore off, people were quick to celebrate her career. Barty's attitude and playing style made her one of the most beloved players on the tour. Many of her contemporaries and fans wished her well for the next phase of her life.
Despite her relatively short time on the WTA tour, Ashleigh Barty racked up plenty of accomplishments. Having played just nine seasons, the 25-year-old's achievements in the sport are simply incredible.
Ashleigh Barty started her career with instant success in doubles
Ashleigh Barty showed plenty of promise as a junior, winning the girls' singles title at Wimbledon in 2011. She competed on the ITF circuit for a few years and in 2012, made her main-draw debut on the WTA tour. Her first tournament was the Brisbane International, where she reached the semifinals in doubles alongside compatriot Casey Dellacqua.
Barty's singles debut wasn't as successful, as she lost in the first round of the Hobart International. She made her Grand Slam debut at the Australian Open at just 15 years of age, but lost in the first round of both singles and doubles. While she failed to win a match on the WTA tour that season, she won four titles on the ITF circuit.
While Barty made steady improvements in singles in 2013, she was formidable in doubles alongside Dellacqua. The duo reached the finals of three Grand Slams that year. Barty also won her first career title in doubles at the Birmingham Classic.
While Barty and Dellacqua didn't reach any Grand Slam finals in 2014, they performed reasonably well, reaching two quarterfinals at the Majors. They won their second title as a team at the Strasbourg International. Following the conclusion of the 2014 US Open, Ashleigh Barty announced she'd be taking a hiatus from tennis.
The Australian, who was still a teenager at the time, was tired of living out of her suitcase and wanted to enjoy her youth. During her time away from tennis, Barty played professional cricket and pursued other passions. She began her comeback in 2016, initially competing at the lower levels of the sport.
Barty returned to the WTA tour at the Nottingham Open, where she made the quarterfinals. She received a wildcard to compete in the qualifying draw at Wimbledon, but failed to book her spot in the main draw.
Barty returned to tennis full-time in 2017 and reunited with Dellacqua to compete in doubles. At the Australian Open, she made it to the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time in singles. A few weeks later, she won her first singles title at the Malaysian Open, and won the doubles title as well.
In doubles, she reached the final of the French Open with Dellacqua in 2017, but the duo finished runner-up once again.
Barty's singles career began to flourish in 2017. She did it the hard way, competing in the qualifying rounds at many tournaments before her ranking was high enough to secure direct entry into events. She ended the year on a high, reaching the biggest final of her career at the Wuhan Open and achieving a ranking of No. 17.
2018 was another successful year for Ashleigh Barty in singles and doubles. She was consistent, winning two titles in three finals to end the year ranked No. 15 in singles. Her success in doubles, however, overshadowed her singles triumphs as she won her first Grand Slam title at the US Open with Coco Vandeweghe. She also won three WTA 1000 titles in doubles.
Ashleigh Barty became a dominant force in women's tennis over the last 3 years
After making steady progress over the preceding two seasons, 2019 was the year Ashleigh Barty became a force to be reckoned with. She started the year with a runner-up finish at the Sydney International and reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time at the Australian Open.
Barty won the biggest title of her career at the Miami Open and made her top-10 debut in the WTA rankings. The Australian reached the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open in singles and defended her title at the Italian Open in doubles.
Heading into the French Open, Barty wasn't one of the leading contenders for the title. She went about her business quietly and as the top seeds stumbled, she made it all the way to the championship round for the first time at a Major.
Up against another first-time finalist, Marketa Vondrousova, Barty easily defeated the Czech youngster to win her maiden Grand Slam title in singles. A few weeks later, she won the Birmingham Classic and became the World No. 1 for the first time. She concluded the season by winning the WTA Finals.
In 2020, Ashleigh Barty won the Adelaide International prior to the Australian Open. At the season's first Grand Slam, she made it to the semifinals for the first time. Unfortunately the pressure to perform in front of her home crowd was too much and she lost to Sofia Kenin in straight sets, despite having set points in both sets.
After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Barty didn't compete for the rest of the year. She returned to action in February 2021, winning the Yarra Valley Classic. At the Australian Open, she fell short of glory once again, this time losing to Karolina Muchova in the quarterfinals.
At the Miami Open, Barty successfully defended her title. A few weeks later, she won the singles and doubles titles at the Stuttgart Open and reached the final of the Madrid Open. Unfortunately, injuries forced her out of the Rome Open and Roland Garros.
Barty returned to action at Wimbledon, where she defeated reigning Roland Garros champion Barbora Krejcikova and former World No. 1 Angelique Kerber en route to the final. She had to dig deep but eventually managed to get the better of Karolina Pliskova in three sets to win her second Grand Slam title.
Winning Wimbledon was one of Barty's lifelong dreams and she was over the moon at having finally achieved it.
"It took me a long time to verbalise saying that I want to win this tournament," Ashleigh Barty said. "And being able to live out my dream right now with everyone here has made it better than I could ever imagine."
Barty then represented Australia at the Tokyo Olympics. A favorite to win the gold medal, she was upset in the first round by Sara Sorribes Tormo. She did, however, win the bronze medal in mixed doubles with John Peers.
Barty bounced back from her disappointment in Tokyo by winning her fifth title of the year at the Cincinnati Open. Heading into the US Open, she was one of the leading title contenders, but lost to Shelby Rogers in the third round. She ended her season after that as World No. 1 for the third consecutive year. She also completed 100 consecutive weeks as the world's top-ranked player.
Barty started the 2022 season by winning the singles and doubles titles at the Adelaide International. At the Australian Open, she won her third Grand Slam title. She did so in dominant fashion, dismantling her opponents with ease and underlinig her status as the best player on the WTA tour.
Winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon were two of Ashleigh Barty's biggest motivations. Having accomplished both of them, the Aussie's drive to compete at the highest level diminished and she felt physically and emotionally exhausted.
Ashleigh Barty became the second player after Justine Henin to retire as World No. 1. In her few years on the tour, the Aussie scaled great heights. Her effortless style of play made her stand out from her fellow competitors and her backhand slice has its own fan club.
Barty's presence will be sorely missed on the tour. Perhaps, like Henin, the Australian will make a comeback sometime down the line. In any case, she has etched her name in the history books and there's no better time to leave the sport than when you're on top.
