Ashleigh Barty teases tennis comeback two years after announcing retirement aged 25
Ashleigh Barty was the world No.1 with three Grand Slam titles to her name when she retired from tennis at just 25-years-old.
Australian tennis icon Ashleigh Barty has admitted “there’s nothing keeping me away” from the sport nearly two years after her shock decision to retire. Barty was only when 25 when she opted to walk away, despite being the reigning world No.1 and having just won her home Grand Slam at Melbourne Park.
Few saw the announcement coming. She had topped the rankings for 114 consecutive weeks, the fourth-longest streak in WTA history, has already captured the 2019 French Open and 2021 Wimbledon crown, leaving her seemingly destined to complete a career Slam and go on to become an all-time great of the sport.
She’s since given birth to her first child, but now has inadvertently raised hopes of fans by admitting the path was clear for her to comeback. “There’s nothing keeping me away,” she told reporters this week. “It’s not like I’m doing things to keep myself away from the court.”
However, it doesn’t seem a spectacular comeback is on the cards. Despite conceding she missed the camaraderie of the sport, Barty insisted her primary focus was away from the court. “I want to be there to raise Hayden and I want to be able to enjoy that,” she said. “That’s what I want to do, plain and simple. That’s where my priorities lie now.
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“I miss parts of it, but mostly I miss seeing my mates. I miss seeing the girls that I’ve built such a relationship with over so many years. But a lot of my best mates have also retired now and they’re kind of moving on to their next chapters. We’ll still get out there and hit occasionally if anyone asks or any of my mates ask.”
Barty though, remains active in the sport. Her foundation in Melbourne, which she launched alongside fellow household names Evonne Goolagong and Pat Rafter, provides tennis equipment to young people.
When the Queensland-based star initially retired, it prompted speculation that she would be switching professional sports. Back in 2015, she took a break from tennis to pursue her cricket ambitions, and appeared in the Woman’s Big Bash League for the Brisbane Heat.
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On debut, she hit 39 off 27 balls against the Melbourne Stars, immediately cementing a regular place in the side. However, her form dipped thereafter, and only on one other occasion would she reach double figures that season.
However she duly returned to tennis the following year. Her first Slam success in Paris made her the first Australian woman to win the French Open in singles since Margaret Court in 1973, and the first to win a Grand Slam singles from her country since Sam Stosur at the 2011 US Open.