Ashleigh Barty officially received the 2021 WTA Player of the Year trophy just a few months after her official retirement from tennis.
The crafty Australian was by far the best player on the WTA Tour last season, compiling a 42-8 record (84%). She earned almost $4 million in prize money and cemented herself as the year-end No. 1 for the third year in a row.
Barty's year began in the best way possible, as she won the Yara Valley Classic in her home country against the rejuvenated Garbine Muguruza. While she lost in the Australian Open quarterfinal, she reigned supreme in Miami, defeating Victoria Azarenka, Elina Svitolina, and Aryna Sabalenka on her way to the title.
The 26-year-old showed why she is regarded as an all-surface machine, winning titles on clay and grass. She was the last woman standing in Stuttgart after winning a trio of three-set matches, including a second victory over the power-hitting Sabalenka.
Barty won her second Grand Slam at Wimbledon, dropping just two sets during the tournament. She finished the season with a tour-leading five WTA titles, the last of which was in Cincinnati, before ending her season after the US Open.
It is the second time in her career that she has won the WTA Player of the Year award (also in 2019), which is voted for by members of the international media at the end of the season.
2022 was also a special year for Barty, who began by winning in Adelaide and then ending the longest drought (44 years) by a home player to win the Australian Open when she took down Danielle Collins in the final.
She retired from professional tennis shortly after that success, but the WTA marketing team was able to locate her to hand her the 2021 award that distinguished her from her peers as the best player on the planet in the past season.