Ashleigh Barty, a 25-year-old Australian tennis player, hangs up her racquet. This was self-announced on her Instagram account. For now, Barty is content to rest on her laurels as world number one after winning the Australian Open earlier this year. Tennis ambitions have come true for her in her goodbye video, she adds.
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| [Ashleigh Barty] |
Ashleigh Barty's professional life has always been a little out of the ordinary. At the end of 2014, the Australian had already given up tennis after a promising career on the junior circuit. Her interest waned, so she switched to cricket.
However, she returned to the WTA rankings in 2016 and began a rapid ascent. In 2017, she won her maiden WTA championship, the first of many to follow. For a total of 121 weeks, she held the top spot in the rankings.
However, even during Barty's most prosperous years, she was open about the fact that she missed her family back home. In the wake of the corona epidemic, she took a year-long hiatus from the track to spend time with her family.
I've seen what it takes to get to the top, and I just don't have the time or resources to continue working toward that goal. On a physical and mental level.
As a result, at the age of 25, and still buoyed by her Australian Open victory, she has decided to end her career. It was always her greatest desire to win Wimbledon, she admits. "Last summer, I was able to do this. The thought of quitting crossed my mind after that, but after winning the Australian Open in my own country, it seems natural to go on now."
"Despite the amazing experience, I'm looking forward to pursuing new goals. I've seen what it takes to rise to the top, and I simply don't have the energy or will to do it any longer. I'm physically and emotionally unable to do it anymore. Now, I have nothing left to give to this sport."
"I'm pleased with my decision. Ashleigh Barty, the person, not the tennis player, is what matters now. And my current dreams don't include a trip across the globe. I can't stand being apart from my loved ones."