Ashleigh Barty will return to Wimbledon this year, not as a player but rather as part of the BBC commentary.
The Australian retired from tennis a few years ago because she wanted to focus on other things after growing tired of everything tied to being a professional athlete. She likes the sport and loves to play it, but the time commitment was just too much.
She wanted to start a family and enjoy time with friends and family back home in Australia. It's understandable, and it's hardly the first time a player walked away from the sport, but it was a bit unique as she did it when she was on top.
Garbine Muguruza is another top name who walked away from the sport recently, but the Spaniard wasn't the world no. 1 at the time. Since then, Barty hasn't been involved with pro tennis in any capacity, and she even dismissed doing so in the future.
She will change that this summer, as she was announced as part of the BBC commentary team for Wimbledon. The announcement came from the BBC's Charlotte Moore directly.
"A host of Wimbledon champions will be joining the studio. This will include John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King and Pat Cash, alongside Tim Henman, Tracey Austin, Annabel Croft and Johanna Konta. Joining the line-up this year will be 2021 champion Ashleigh Barty and, if he's not playing, 2022 Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios, so anything could happen there."
It's an interesting development because Barty isn't really the player many would expect to see as a part of the commentary team, especially away from her home in Australia.
She was actually asked about potentially commentating when she retired back in 2022, and she denied any intention of doing so. Fast-forward to 2024, and she'll be in London fairly soon to work on the BBC's Wimbledon coverage.
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