Despite the Trend in Sports, Don’t Wait for Ashleigh Barty to Retire


With all its aging and sick superstars, tennis has been preparing for the big goodbyes for years. But players like Roger Federer, Serena and Venus Williams, and Andy Murray have pushed and refused retirement, challenging the timeline and expectations through competition, stubbornness, and love of games and platforms.

so it’s wednesday such a surprise.

Ashleigh Barty was just getting started by these new age standards. The 25-year-old is #1 on the bank with three Grand Slam singles titles, including last year’s Wimbledon and January’s Australian Open. Already an icon at home, he had that beautiful game and winning personality and one day became a global brand as the bigs and seasons piled up.

But Barty was on his own timeline, and after long and careful consideration he retires at the top, at the top, which may sound neat and tidy but it actually takes self-awareness and courage to leave a lot of things unfinished.

If Barty continues to retire, he will never win the US Open singles title, he will never win the Billie Jean King Cup team event for Australia, he will never win an Olympic gold medal, he will never reach the calendar year Grand with his full set of tennis gear. The Slam that his Australian predecessors Rod Laver and Margaret Court won more than 50 years ago.

But there’s more to a champion’s life than a checklist, and as Federer and his permanent peer group will certainly confirm, hiking to such low-oxygen places is only worthwhile if you truly enjoy the journey.

Barty, the teenage genius who won the Wimbledon girls’ championship at age 15, has long seemed like someone whose gift took her further than she wanted to go.

“I was shocked and not shocked,” said Australian player, coach and ESPN analyst Rennae Stubbs of Barty’s retirement. “Ash is not an ego-driven person who wants more. He is happy and at ease now and never has to leave his town and family again. And now he is happy with his achievements.”

It is true that journeys are longer for Australians and during the pandemic they were isolated under the world’s strictest quarantine and quarantine rules.

Barty spent the whole of 2020 in Australia, choosing to stay at home in Brisbane rather than travel abroad to compete when the tournaments resume after a mandatory hiatus. He left the country for a few months in 2021 and cemented his #1 status by winning four championships, including Wimbledon. But after losing early at the US Open, Barty was emotionally drained, returning to Australia and skipping the rest of the season.

This could be a hint that early retirement is a possibility; That balance and personal well-being were Barty’s priorities once his financial future was secured. But he later returned to competition without losing a single set, when he won the Australian Open singles title in January, ending Australia’s 44-year drought. She howled in delight after winning a front-stroke pass against American Danielle Collins.

Perhaps in retrospect, it was a cry of relief. What appeared to be his most recent achievement was his crowning achievement. After winning the title in Melbourne, he never took a racket again, even to train. He withdrew from prestigious hard court events at Indian Wells and Miami, and then retired on Wednesday, breaking the news in a prearranged conversation with his friend and former doubles partner, Casey Dellacqua. Posted on social media.

I don’t think Ash was ever part of a movement. Speaking with Barty on Tuesday ahead of her statement, Micky Lawler, president of the Women’s Tennis Association, said. “This is not a new trend for him. I think she’s always been very determined and very clear about where she stands in life and where tennis stands, she.”

This clarity is hard-won. Since Barty first moved away from tour and its pressures at the age of 17, depressed and homesick, he has matured and learned a lot about himself through therapy and life experience. As Tom Brady goes on to clarify, sports comebacks are keeping all the rage. Tennis stars of the past who retired early – see. Justine Henin and Bjorn Borg – they are finally back in the competition, albeit briefly. But the feeling in tennis circles is that another Barty comeback is against all odds.

“I guess that was his final decision,” Lawler said. “Had he lived in America or Europe, his chances of coming back would have been much better. I think being in Australia, loving Australia and loving being at home played a big part in how he decided that and when he decided that, and that, It will make the comeback much more difficult.”

Lawler also said in his interviews that Barty made it clear that he didn’t want to continue placing travel requests on his veteran Australian coach, Craig Tyzzer.

Lawler said he expects Barty to request delisting before the end of the Miami Open, which is likely to end on April 3. Polish No.2 Iga Swiatek could have been No.1 by winning the opening game in Miami, but if she loses, Spaniard No.6 Paula Badosa could also be No.1 by winning the title.

While 20-year-old Swiatek and 24-year-old Badosa have strong play and charisma, Barty’s departure leaves a gap. Formally, its fluid, varied gameplay was a refreshing change from the long-standing big bang approach. Although Barty was only 5 meters tall, he had plenty of power and had one of the most dominant serve and forward strokes in the game. But its success also relied on speed, turn, and tactical changes. He could strike the opposite side with both hands or slash with one hand and with tremendous control, depth, and bite.

The full pack often surprises competitors with more one-size-fits-all. Other young players have similar diversity, including Russia’s Daria Kasatkina and Canada’s Bianca Andreescu, who won the 2019 US Open. But Barty was the most consistent and irresistible example of diversity. She was 3-0 in the Grand Slam singles final, but she has never faced a top 10 player in any of the Grand Slam tournaments she’s won.

It wasn’t his fault, but his early departure will once again make it difficult for the WTA to create what it has been missing for most of the past 20 years: the enduring, transcendent rivalries that have characterized men’s games. Age of Novak Djokovic, Federer and Rafael Nadal.

The greatest female player of that era, Serena Williams, is 40 years old and went out of action after she injured herself in the first round of Wimbledon last year. He may not play again. Distinctive in terms of global profile and business portfolio, heir Naomi Osaka has struggled with her mental health and is currently ranked 77th. Talented British teen Emma Raducanu, who was a surprise US Open champion last year, is a sponsor magnet but she’s not quite ready to hit the top just yet.

Maybe Barty will take on other sporting challenges. During his first break from tennis, he demonstrated his potential to be a world-class cricketer and is an excellent golfer who is engaged to Garry Kissick, a professional golfer from Australia. She has moved on to professional golf, including other female tennis stars. Althea Gibsonhowever, this move seems unlikely given the global travel that sports demand.

WTA clearly knows how to crown champions and how to do business without Barty. Despite finishing the season at No. 1 in the past three years, he did not become a dominant presence there during his extended hiatus from the sport. But no matter how well thought out his departure was, it’s still a pity for tennis that he didn’t want to carry the torch forward.

His character and play would wear out particularly well.





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