Ashleigh Barty sent shockwaves across the entire tennis fraternity with her sudden retirement. The recently crowned Australian Open champion was in the form of her life. Moreover, she was at the top of women’s singles rankings and one of the most consistent players on the tour in recent times. It was completely unexpected news from the Australian, given the fact that she was only 25!

Further, the tennis world reacted in disbelief upon hearing Barty’s retirement. Fellow players such as Simona Halep, Karolina Pliskova, Madison Keys, and others congratulated her on a wonderful tennis career and wished her good luck for the future endeavors in her life. Former World Number 1, Naomi Osaka, also joined in to extend her wishes towards Barty.

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Naomi Osaka opens up on the sudden retirement of Ashleigh Barty

The Japanese tennis star remembered the matches she played against Barty. Their last meeting was in the final of the China Open in Beijing. Osaka had beaten Barty in a three-setter thriller in that tournament. Talking about that match, Osaka said, “It’s rare to play people that adjust so well. To me, the ones that stand out are Ash & Bianca Andreescu. It was such a fun match to play, a match where it’s pure tennis, nothing else going on. We were both trying our best, being as respectful as we could.”

Further, she added, “I’m a bit sad that we couldn’t play more matches like that. I wish I won my last match in Australia so we could have played that round of 16.”

Barty and Osaka went on to play against each other on four occasions, with both of them winning two matches each. Their first meeting was way back in 2014 during the qualifying rounds in Acapulco, with Barty prevailing in that match in straight sets.

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While Barty has quit tennis, Naomi Osaka is playing at the Miami Open. She has won her opening round match against Astra Sharma. In the second round, Osaka will be up against Angelique Kerber. It will be a mouth-watering clash between the two former World Number 1’s.