Reuters
Tennis – Australian Open – Women’s Singles Final – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia – January 29, 2022. Australia’s Ashleigh Barty poses as she celebrates winning the final with the trophy against Danielle Collins of the U.S. holding the runner up trophy. REUTERS/Loren Elliott
Reuters
Tennis – Australian Open – Women’s Singles Final – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia – January 29, 2022. Australia’s Ashleigh Barty poses as she celebrates winning the final with the trophy against Danielle Collins of the U.S. holding the runner up trophy. REUTERS/Loren Elliott
In quite a shocking turn of events, Ashleigh Barty announced her retirement from professional tennis. She had just won her third Grand Slam at the Australian Open, becoming the first Australian woman since 1978 to win at her home tournament. Her reign at the top is also the fourth-longest streak as World No. 1, in WTA history.
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In an emotional interview with her friend and doubles partner Casey Dellacqua, Ashleigh Barty opened up about her decision. She said that she had nothing more to give to the court and has achieved the goals she wanted to as a professional tennis player.
Love and support started pouring in for the Australian almost immediately after her announcement was released. Many of her fellow tennis players from both the WTA and ATP circuits, as well as other eminent personalities from the tennis fraternity sent their wishes to her. They expressed their sadness to see her go but wished her well for the next chapter of her life.
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Collins thinks Ashleigh Barty and her decision is ‘so cool’
Her opponent at the Australian Open final, Danielle Collins was one among the several people who shared their thoughts about the issue. She highlighted the fact that it was extremely courageous of Barty to retire at 25. This was especially ‘cool’ given the sheer amount of expectations on her shoulders.
Reuters
Tennis – Australian Open – Women’s Singles Final – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia – January 29, 2022 Australia’s Ashleigh Barty shakes hands with Danielle Collins of the U.S. after winning the final REUTERS/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake
“To retire at 25, I think it really speaks to the way our sport empowers women…I think it’s so cool being able to retire at 25. What other profession would you be able to do that in? There’s not too many. I think it’s incredible for our sport,” Collins said.
Danielle Collins on Ash Barty:
“To retire at 25, I think it really speaks to the way our sport empowers women…I think it's so cool being able to retire at 25. What other profession would you be able to do that in? There's not too many. I think it's incredible for our sport.”
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) March 23, 2022
Ashleigh Barty is not the first person to retire when at the peak of her athletic prowess. In the light of Barty’s retirement, mention must be made of Justine Henin. The Belgian star won 7 Grand Slams and 43 WTA singles titles before retiring, ranked World No. 1, also aged 25. Much like Barty, she too wanted to concentrate on her life outside of tennis but made a comeback 20 months later.
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While only time will tell if we will ever see the Australian star on the court in a professional match again, we do wish her all the best for whatever she chooses to do next.
