Ashleigh Barty

When the world's top women's tennis player won the Australian Open in January, it became her crowning achievement. Her stunning retirement is a loss to ...

She was 3-0 in Grand Slam singles finals, although it bears remembering that she never faced a player ranked in the top 10 in any of the Grand Slam tournaments she won. But however well-considered her departure, it is still sad for tennis that she did not want to carry the torch forward. I think she has always been very determined and very clear on where she stood and where tennis stood in her life.” Barty, though she stood only 5-foot-5, had plenty of power and one of the most dominant serves — and forehands — in the game. Naomi Osaka, her heir apparent in terms of global profile and commercial portfolio, has struggled with her mental health and is now ranked 77th. Lawler said she expects Barty to request to be removed from the rankings, likely before the end of the Miami Open, which concludes April 3. But then came her return to competition in January, when she ended Australia’s 44-year drought by winning the Australian Open singles title — without dropping a single set. Tennis stars of the past who retired early — see Justine Henin and Bjorn Borg — did eventually return to competition, however briefly. She’s happy and now comfortable and never has to leave her town and family again. Perhaps, in retrospect, it was a scream of relief. Barty spent all of 2020 in Australia, opting to remain home in Brisbane rather than travel abroad to compete when tournaments resumed after a forced hiatus. Her stunning retirement is a loss to tennis.