Ashleigh Barty no longer wants to be a professional tennis player. The best female athlete in the world gives up. Like that, of my own free will, at the age of 25. The timing and vehemence of his decisions are remarkable. And yet, this way of ending her career suits the Australian well, we read in “Der Spiegel”.

She didn’t want to leave her homeland

Barty she announced her decision via Instagram in an interview with longtime partner and friend Casey Dellacqua. “Today is a difficult and emotional day for me as I announce my departure from tennis. I didn’t know how to share this news with you, so I asked my good friend for help – she wrote. Despite everything, she seemed calm, thoughtful, not bitter at all.

The three-time Grand Slam winner is a big sports star, especially in Australia. It seems that love of country played an important role in his decision to quit. Barty was born in 1996 in Ipswich, near Brisbane. She has Aboriginal ancestry on her father’s side and is an Australian Aboriginal tennis ambassador.

At the same time, reports were circulating from her camp that she was increasingly annoyed by numerous trips, constant absences from home. Because of this, she missed many tournaments. This year she won events in Adelaide and australian open. After that, she never returned to court. Nor was there in the Tournament of Champions in Guadalajara, which ended the previous season.

need to appreciate

Barty is the tennis revelation of recent years. In singles, she won Roland Garros (2019), Wimbledon (2021) and the Australian Open (2022). She was champion before U.S. Open (2018) in duplicate. In total, she won 15 events and, in mid-2019, she became the leader WTA Ranking. She was officially the best tennis player in the world for 120 weeks. Only Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams, Chris Evert, Martina Hingis and Monica Seles were in the lead for longer.

Barty dominated a time when no tennis player managed to win more than one Grand Slam tournament in a year. Serena Williams and Angelika Kerber are set to retire, Simona Halep has her issues, and Caroline Wozniacki is focused on her family. A new generation is still struggling to keep in shape: Emma Raducanu, Sofia Kenin or even Naomi Osaka, who after four Grand Slam titles is now close to falling from the top 100. Iga Świątek will replace Barty as leader of the ranking, but you have to remember that the Australian was beating Polish in their two duels: last year in Madrid, in January in Adelaide.

The moment of dominance, however, shouldn’t hurt Barta’s successes. She was a complete tennis player: dominant serve, slides, volleys, topspins. In addition, she is extremely calm, balanced. She handled the pressure. She won the Australian Open as the first Australian in 44 years. She was underrated and she comes across as a great champion, all the way up.

Despite this, tennis was never Barty’s only interest. “Tennis will always be an important part of my life,” she said when announcing her decision to quit. But not the most important. After the 2014 US Open, she did not play on the court for almost two years. She felt the weight of the pressure, the displacements, the physical efforts. Instead, she tried her hand at cricket.

Success didn’t make her addicted

There were more breaks. During the first wave of the pandemic, she decided to return home, she did not want to leave Australia. Thanks to the new rules introduced by the WTA, she was still in first place in the rankings. On her return to court, she had no equal in Paris and London. She admitted winning at Wimbledon was special for her.

“Wimbledon changed me a lot as a person and an athlete,” Barty said. A lot of athletes get addicted after the first big hit, they want more and sometimes they just can’t let go. Although he is 40 years old, Roger Federer is fighting for his comeback, Rafael Nadal, five years younger, is struggling with injuries, but he is not giving up on his career. Barta’s successes didn’t make her hungrier, but happier. After winning the Australian Open in January, he was completely fulfilled.

“I no longer have the physical drive, the emotional desire and everything it takes to compete at the highest level,” Barty revealed. She is exhausted and cannot give her best to succeed. This is another example of the trend prevailing in the modern world sportswhere mental health is becoming increasingly important. Lindsay Vonn, Naomi Osaka, Simone Biles and Michael Phelps have all reported mental issues at various stages of their careers. Barty doesn’t want to make his mistakes.