Ashleigh continues to march to her own beat

In late 2014, Australia’s Ashleigh Barty was disillusioned with tennis. It was a sport she loved and played from the age of five. As a child prodigy, she won the junior girls Wimbledon title, and as a senior, reached the doubles final of three Grand Slams. But the grind and rigour of the sport got to her: she retired and took up cricket, playing for the Women’s Big Bash League. She returned to tennis 18 months later.

Now, Barty is hanging up her racquet again, for good. But this time she feels she has given the sport her all. Indeed, Barty is at her sporting peak: At 25, she has held the World No 1. ranking for 121 weeks. She has three Grand Slam titles in her kitty, all on different surfaces, beginning with the French Open in 2019 and ending with the 2022 Australian Open. The triumph at Melbourne Park, which ended a 44-year-drought for a home Major champion, is often considered her crowning glory.

Ultimate dream

But for Barty, winning Wimbledon was the ultimate dream. That materialised last year when she became the first Australian woman to win the singles title since her hero Evonne Goolagong in 1981. Barty takes after Goolagong in many ways: right from her playing style to her social awareness that comes with being an indigenous Australian.

Barty’s game is built on first-rate racquet skills and excellent footwork. She has every shot in her arsenal: lethal slice backhands, destructive crosscourt forehands, deft volleys and drop shots. These help her build disruptive rallies, probing for openings in her opponent’s game and rendering them weak. Her serve, be it flat or kicked, is reliable and ruthless and often comes to her aid in clutch moments.

Her sporting success is significant for First Nations Australians. Barty is a descendant of the Ngarigo Aboriginal tribe and belongs to a small pantheon of indigenous women who are both sporting champions and household names in Australia.

She serves as the National Indigenous Tennis Ambassador for Tennis Australia, often visiting tribal heartlands and hitting with local children.

Her sudden retirement is a shocking blow to the sport. She would have been chasing a career grand slam at this year’s US Open. But Barty has always marched to her own beat. As tributes poured in from fans and players alike, it was clear that she was and will always be universally loved.