Top five greatest achievements in the career of Ashleigh Barty

The incredible tennis player called time on her professional career at just 25 years old.

World No.1 women’s tennis player Ashleigh Barty shocked the world by announcing her retirement from the sport on Wednesday. At the age of 25, the Australian called time on her career through an emotional video on social media. "Today is difficult and filled with emotion for me as I announce my retirement from tennis," she said in the video message on Instagram.

She was a three-time singles grand slam champion and was on top of her game. Adding to that, she also has a grand slam title in the doubles category. Her retirement comes shortly after the incredible feat of winning the Australian Open, becoming the first homegrown champion of the tournament in 44 years.

A huge reaction from the tennis fraternity ensued and applauded Barty’s decision. She chose to quit while on top of her game. Putting the focus on her short yet incredible career, here are five of the biggest achievements:

5. Bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Ashleigh Barty has an Olympic medal in her locker after winning the bronze during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics for Australia. She achieved the feat in the mixed doubles category, playing alongside compatriot John William Peers.

After losing to eventual gold medal winners Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Andrey Rublev, the bronze medal match had them paired against the Serbian duo of Novak Djokovic and Nina Stojanovic. However, the Australians got a walkover and were awarded the bronze medal as a result. 

4. US Open winner in 2018

The first-ever grand slam triumph came for Ashleigh Barty during the US Open. She won the doubles title during the 2018 edition, which remains an iconic achievement in her career. Playing alongside Coco Vandeweghe, Barty secured the title by beating Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic in the final.

The final was a tough and closely-fought encounter that ended 3–6, 7–6 (7-2), 7-6 (8-6) in favour of the Australian and her American partner. It is worth remembering that Barty was as good in double as she was in the singles category, and at one time reached the career-high ranking of five in the world.

3. French Open winner in 2019

The first-ever singles Grand Slam for Ashleigh Barty win was memorable and indicative of things to come. She secured the French Open title in 2019 by winning the women’s singles bracket. The Australian was in exceptional form during the event on the clay court. 

Barty had to defeat Markéta Vondroušová in the final by a scoreline of 6–1, 6–3 to become the first Australian winner of the French Open since Margaret Court in 1973. Furthermore, she was the eighth seed coming into the tournament and hence was a surprise winner to a certain degree.

2. Wimbledon winner in 2021

The second major grand slam title for Ashleigh Barty came in 2021 when she won the prestigious Wimbledon. Her clay court success transitioned into grass court dominance. She met Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic in the final, beating her by a score of 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3 to lift the title.

It is a major achievement for an Australian to win in England considering the rivalry and history of the two nations. The last time the Wimbledon Championships saw an Australian women’s singles winner was way back in 1980 when Evonne Goolagong Cawley won the tournament. 

1. Australian Open winner in 2022

Ashleigh Barty’s biggest and perhaps the most special achievement was winning the Australian Open earlier this year. Playing in her home country, and being the World No.1, Barty had a huge weight of expectations on her shoulders. However, she blossomed under the pressure and secured the elusive grand slam win on a hard court surface. 

The 25-year-old met Danielle Collins of the USA in the final and defeated her in straight sets by a score of 6-3, 7-6 (7-2). An even more impressive feat was winning the Australian Open without losing a single set and becoming only the eighth woman in the Open Era to win French Open, Wimbledon and the Australian Open. 

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