Ashleigh Barty: tennis world number one’s career highlights following shock retirement

Tennis star Ashleigh Barty shocked the sporting world this morning after announcing her retirement from professional tennis at the age of just 25.

In a statement made on social media, the world number one claimed she would leave the sport to “chase other dreams”.

Barty wrote: “I’m so happy and I’m so ready. I just know at the moment in my heart, for me as a person, this is right.

“I know that people may not understand it. I’m OK with that. Because I know that Ash Barty the person has so many dreams she wants to chase after that don’t necessarily involve travelling the world, being away from my family, from my home, which is where I’ve always wanted to be.”

Barty has shone as one of tennis’ biggest stars in recent years and fans will be surprised to see her retire at such a young age.

The Australian has plenty of highlights to look back at during her successful career and here are some of the best:

Barty’s career highlights

April 2000 - Barty begins playing tennis at age four at the West Brisbane Tennis Centre in Queensland, Australia.

April 2010 - Barty begins playing tennis professionally after turning 14 at an International Tennis Federation event in Ipswich.

July 2011 - Barty beats Irina Khromacheva at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships final to win the girls’ singles tennis title at the age of 15.

2012 - Barty makes her singles and doubles main draw debuts on the WTA Tour and after failing in singles qualification, she teamed up with Casey Dellacqua to reach the doubles semi-finals while still only 15 years old.

September 2014 - Barty announces she is having a break from tennis as she takes up cricket and signs with the Brisbane Heat for the Women’s Big Bash League season in 2015.

February 2016 - Barty announces her return to professional tennis and explains that her success so early on in her career been overwhelming.

February 2017 - Barty wins her first WTA title at the Malaysian Open and rises to No 17 in the world.

June 2019 - Barty becomes the first Australian women in 46 years to win the French Open at 23 years old. She then becomes the world No 1 a fortnight later after beating Julia Goerges in the final of the Birmingham Classic.

January 2020 - She is awarded Young Australian of the Year.

September 2020 - Barty becomes Brookwater Golf Club Women’s Champion, despite never playing golf professionally.

January 2021 - After an 11 month break, Barty returns to tennis and headlines two WTA tournaments in Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open. However, she is defeated at the Open’s quarter-finals by Karolina Muchova.

July 2021 Barty becomes the first Australian woman to reach a Wimbledon singles final since 1980. She then becomes the first Australian woman to win Wimbledon in 41 years after beating Karolina Pliskova two days later.

January 2022 Barty beats Danielle Collins to win her maiden Australian Open title, ending a 42-year drought for homegrown winners of the grand slam.

March 2022 Barty announces her retirement 12 years after making her professional debut.