The No. 1-ranked female tennis player in the world, Ash Barty, has suddenly announced her retirement.
Barty, 25, is just coming off an incredible bout in which she won her home Australian Open less than two months ago, and her third Grand Slam singles title. Thus, it is perplexing as to why she would choose to retire at the top of her game, and this has left many tennis fans across the world shocked.
The tennis star posted on Instagram a heartfelt message announcing her decision. “I’m so happy, and I’m so ready. I just know at the moment, in my heart, for me as a person, this is right…I don’t have the physical drive, the emotional want and everything it takes to challenge yourself at the very top of the level any more. I am spent.”
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Notably, this is not the first time Barty has stepped away from the sport. In 2014 at age 18, she quit tennis for two years, citing being overburdened by the amount of pressure and travel. Barty addressed this in her video, but affirmed that this time will be “different”.
“I know I’ve done this before,” Barty said in the Instagram video, “but in a very different feeling. I’m so grateful to everything that tennis has given me. It’s given me all of my dreams, plus more, but I know that the time is right now for me to step away and chase other dreams and to, yeah, put the rackets down.”
BREAKING: World No. 1 @ashbarty announces retirement. pic.twitter.com/Ro1IQ4LDbq
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) March 23, 2022
Barty was the first Australian in 44 years to win the Grand Slam Tournament. She also won the 2019 French Open, and was ranked the number one female tennis player in the world for 114 weeks straight. Up until this point, she had won 25 out of her past 26 matches.
“I’ll never, ever, ever stop loving tennis,” Barty concluded the video with. “It will always be a massive part of my life, but now I think it’s important I get to enjoy the next phase of my life as Ash Barty the person, not Ash Barty the athlete.”
At the young age of 25, Barty has quite a long journey ahead of her outside of the tennis world, should her retirement be permanent. What do you think of Barty’s retirement? Let us know, by either leaving a reaction below or by sending us a tweet at @celebsecrets.
