Ashleigh Barty’s Journey: From Junior Wimbledon Champion to Cricket and Then Back to Tennis
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Aug 19, 2021; Mason, OH, USA; Ashleigh Barty (AUS) celebrates winning her match against Victoria Azarenka (BLR, not pictured) during the Western and Southern Open at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
Not many sportspersons have taken a break from their sport, went to play another sport professionally, and then returned to the original sport again to perform at an elite level. However, World No.1 Ashleigh Barty is an exception who is a phenomenal Tennis player and left her mark on Cricket as well.
Ashleigh Barty started playing Tennis at the age of just four years. She won the Wimbledon Championships in the juniors category at the age of fifteen. Interestingly, she was also the juniors No.2 player at that time.
Despite early success, she took a break from tennis in 2014 citing a lack of interest in the sport. As an alternative, the extremely gifted Aussie decided to play Cricket. Even though she used to play cricket in her childhood, it was in 2014, when she thought of playing it professionally for the first time.
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Her journey began on a high note as she scored an unbeaten 63 and took two wickets on her debut for the Western Suburbs in the Brisbane Women’s Premier Cricket competition. As a result, she got a call from Brisbane Heat to play in the maiden edition of the Women’s Big Bash League in 2015.
This didn’t turn out to be great for Barty as she only scored 68 runs in nine innings in the league. Thus, it forced her to change her plans yet again.
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Ashleigh Barty- Return to tennis in 2016
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World No.1 Barty soon realized that Cricket was probably not meant for her. As a result, she tried her luck again at Tennis in 2016 and it yielded some good results for her.
USA Today via Reuters
Ashleigh Barty (AUS) returns a shot during her match against Barbora Krejcikova (CZE not pictured) during the Western and Southern Open at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
Barty stunned almost everyone with her performances when she made a comeback on the court. She began the 2017 season outside the top 200 players but finished the year within the top 20 rankings. It was in 2017 itself when she won her first singles WTA title at the Malaysian Open.
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Since then, Barty never looked back. She climbed to No.1 spot on June 24, 2019 for the first time and has been there on the top position for nearly two years now. During this period, she has won two Grand Slam titles as well. Barty is extremely gifted, regardless of whether it’s a bat or a racket in her hand.
Ashleigh Barty Reveals Why She Quit Tennis to Play Cricket
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