Player Ash Barty Shocks The World; Retires At 25

TIL Desk Sports/ Women’s world No. 1 tennis player Ashleigh Barty of Australia had the tennis world and her legion of fans in a state of shock on Wednesday (IST) after the winner of three Grand Slams announced her retirement one month shy of her 26th birthday.

Barty won the French Open in 2019, the Wimbledon in 2021 and Australian Open earlier this year, and her current reign of 114 consecutive weeks at No.1 is the fourth-longest streak in the history of the WTA Tour, behind Germany’s Steffi Graf (186 weeks), American stalwart Serena Williams (186) and Czechoslovakian-American great Martina Navratilova (156).

Barty’s 121 total weeks as the top ranked player are No.7 in the all-time list. “It’s the first time I’ve actually said it out loud and, yeah, it’s hard to say,” an emotional Barty told former doubles partner Casey Dellacqua in an interview. “But I’m so happy, and I’m so ready. A professional player quitting so early is rare but Barty said that she no longer has the “physical drive” to continue playing the sport. “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.”