In March, Ashleigh Barty surprised everyone when she announced retirement just after winning her third Grand Slam title.
Ashleigh Barty finished every season from 2019 until 2021 as world number 1 and collected three Grand Slam titles from 2019 to 2022. The 26-year-old Australian started her 2022 season undefeated, and she will also finish it undefeated after she retired following her third major triumph.
After winning the Roland Garros in 2019 and Wimbledon in 2021, winning the home Grand Slam has been a big motivation for Barty to continue, but probably, once she has won that, she probably felt a sense of completeness.
Barty became one of the youngest players to retire from tennis, especially when she was on top of her game. However, it looks like she doesn't regret the decision. Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald in a recent interview, the Australian admitted that she was happy about her decision.
"I am just so happy, I didn’t need any reassurance but I have still felt that reassurance that I made the right decision."
According to Barty, she is not able to spend more time with her family, and that's something that many tennis players don't get to do for multiple reasons. One of them is the fact that they are traveling for the majority of the year.
"I have spent so much time with my beautiful family and my nieces and nephew and you could not wipe the smile off my face the last few weeks. It’s been awesome."
The three-time Grand Slam champion can now dedicate her time to other activities, and while some tennis fans are still hoping that she would return to the tennis courts, that doesn't seem likely, especially after statements like these. The Australian tennis will now hope that someone will be able to follow in her footsteps.