The No. 1 Women's Tennis Player In The World Ash Barty Just Shockingly Retired At The Age of 25

Clive Brunskill. Getty Images.

Uhhhh what the fuck just happened? The number 1 women's player in the world and 3x grand slam champion just retired from the game at the age of 25. The definition of going out on top after winning the Aussie earlier this year. Had to do a triple take when I got the notification because I mean…wow. I think it's safe to say no one saw this coming, including her friend interviewing here in the video announcement. Just a few months ago Barty absolutely smoked her competition in Melbourne to win her first ever Australian Open. She became the first Aussie to win it in 44 years and really did it with ease without dropping a single set. It was some Serena shit with how much she out-classed her opponents. Her game really has no weaknesses. 

This is actually her second retirement in her career believe it or not. After the 2014 US Open she stepped away from the game at a young age saying the travel and all that goes into the pro circuit became too much for her too quickly. She picked up cricket for a few years and played professionally before returning and finding elite success in singles. 2021 was the third year in a row where she finished with the number one ranking, 

Barty was 11-0 to start 2022, winning two titles and a 3rd slam. Winning the Aussie appears to have been her final goal. She claims in the video that she has plans for other things which I assume will be in her homeland. I get the feeling she just didn't want to travel anymore and be away from her family. Could she have won a boat load more of slam titles? No question Barty was the best player in the world by a sizable margin, but maybe she just got burnt out and didn't really care about that anymore. Maybe she just got bored of winning and didn't think the grind of the tour was worth it anymore? Andy Murray just tweeted that this is a gut punch to the sport and he's right. Barty Is an extremely well liked superstar by fans and players all over. She handled the media extremely well and on the court was a beast. Tells you a lot about her character not taking any sort of retirement tour. That's just not her style, she doesn't care about that. She did her thing, made some really good money (shade under $24 mill in career earnings), dominated the sport, and then peaced out. Wish her all the best with whatever is next. 

It's time for Iga Swiatek to take the jump and became a superstar in the sport. Women's side is wide open, but Iga has the most talent of them all as far as I'm concerned. 

P.S. It'll be really interesting next winter when the 2023 Aussie rolls around whether she gets the itch to play in it. Wouldn't be shocked at all, but who knows maybe she's really just done with all of it.