Tamil‘I am spent’: World number one Barty retires at 25
23 March 2022, 12:12 pm
FILE - Ash Barty of Australia waves as she holds the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup after defeating Danielle Collins of the U.S., in the women's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia on Jan. 29, 2022. In a shock announcement Wednesday, March 23, 2022, No. 1-ranked Barty announced her retirement from tennis. (AP Photo/Andy Brownbill,File)
Australia’s world number one Ash Barty has retired at the age of 25 and at the peak of her game, citing the fulfilment of her tennis goals and fatigue with life on the Tour.
She quits with 15 titles, less than two months after winning the Australian Open, her third Grand Slam singles triumph following Wimbledon in 2021 and the 2019 French Open.
“I know how much work it takes to bring the best out of yourself … I don’t have that in me anymore,” she said in a video posted on her Instagram account on Wednesday. “I don’t have the physical drive, the emotional want and everything it takes to challenge yourself at the very top level any more. I am spent.”
It marks Barty’s second retirement from the sport, having walked away from the game as a teenager in late-2014 after becoming disaffected by the Tour. She returned in 2016 and rose rapidly up the rankings, earning global acclaim for her brilliant tennis and fans’ affection for her unfailing good sportmanship and laid-back demeanour.
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