Ash Barty

Ash Barty's career did not follow the usual script. A teenage prodigy who won junior Wimbledon, she walked away from tennis at 18, played professional cricket, then returned to become the world's best player. She won majors on clay, grass and hard courts, spent 121 weeks at No. 1, and then, two months after winning her home Australian Open, retired at the top.

Early life

Ashleigh Jacinta Barty was born in Ipswich, Queensland, on 24 April 1996. Through her great-grandmother, she is of the Ngarigo people, the Aboriginal people of southern New South Wales and north-eastern Victoria. She took up tennis as a young child and quickly showed exceptional talent.

Junior success

Barty was a junior world No. 2 and won the 2011 Wimbledon girls' singles title. As a teenager in 2013, she had early success in doubles on the WTA Tour, finishing runner-up at three major doubles events with Casey Dellacqua.

The cricket break

Late in 2014, Barty took an indefinite break from tennis. Instead, she played cricket, signing with the Brisbane Heat for the inaugural season of the Women's Big Bash League despite having no formal training in the sport. Her coach was impressed by her natural skill with the bat. The break gave her time away from the pressures of the tour.

Return and rise

Barty returned to tennis in 2016 and began working with coach Craig Tyzzer. In 2017 she won her first WTA Tour title at the Malaysian Open and rose to No. 17 in the world. In 2018, she won the US Open women's doubles with CoCo Vandeweghe.

The 2019 French Open

In 2019, Barty won her first major singles title at the French Open, a breakthrough on clay. She went on to win the 2019 WTA Finals and rose to world No. 1.

Wimbledon 2021

In 2021, Barty won Wimbledon, 50 years after Evonne Goolagong's first Wimbledon title in 1971. Barty has described Goolagong as her mentor and idol, and she became the second Australian woman, after Goolagong Cawley, to reach world No. 1 in the WTA singles rankings.

The 2022 Australian Open

In January 2022, Barty won the Australian Open on home soil, delighting crowds at Melbourne Park. With that title she had won a major singles title on all three surfaces: clay, grass and hard court.

Retirement at the top

In March 2022, just two months after winning the Australian Open and while ranked world No. 1, Barty announced her retirement. Few champions have left the sport at the very top.

Career summary

Playing style

Barty was known for an all-court game built on variety and touch, a style that worked on clay, grass and hard courts alike. Her early doubles success with Casey Dellacqua, the first Australian pair to reach an Australian Open women's doubles final since Goolagong and Helen Gourlay in 1977, sharpened her net play.

Off the court

Barty was named Young Australian of the Year in 2020. She serves as Tennis Australia's National Indigenous Tennis Ambassador, encouraging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children to play.

Key dates

Why she matters

Barty showed that stepping away can be part of a champion's journey. Her humility, variety and respect for tennis history, particularly her connection with Goolagong, made her one of Australia's most popular athletes.

Doubles achievements

Barty's doubles record is easy to overlook beside her singles titles, but it was substantial. As a teenager in 2013 she finished runner-up at three major doubles events with Casey Dellacqua. Their partnership continued after her return from cricket, and in 2017 it took her to the WTA Finals in doubles for the first time. In 2018 she won her first major doubles title at the US Open, partnering CoCo Vandeweghe. She won 12 doubles titles in all and reached a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 5.

That doubles experience helped shape her singles game. Doubles rewards good hands at the net, quick reactions and variety, all of which became features of her singles play. Her sliced backhand, willingness to come forward and ability to change pace often unsettled opponents who preferred a steady baseline rally.

The cricket chapter in context

Few elite athletes step away from one professional sport to play another and then return to the top of the first. Late in 2014 Barty took an indefinite break from tennis. She signed with the Brisbane Heat for the inaugural Women's Big Bash League season despite having no formal cricket training. She came back to tennis in 2016 and broke through in singles in 2017, winning her first WTA title at the Malaysian Open and rising to No. 17 in the world.

Her return is often described as a lesson in balance. She spoke openly about needing time away from the pressures of touring life as a teenager. Whatever the reasons, the results that followed speak for themselves: within three years of returning she was a major champion and world No. 1.

Barty among Australian champions

Barty's three major singles titles came on three different surfaces: clay at Roland Garros in 2019, grass at Wimbledon in 2021 and hard courts in Melbourne in 2022. That spread places her among the most versatile champions Australia has produced. She also won the 2019 WTA Finals and spent 121 weeks ranked world No. 1. Her decision to retire while ranked No. 1, soon after winning her home major, gave her career an unusual shape. Rather than a long decline, it ended at its peak.

For readers tracing the line of Australian women's champions, Barty's career links naturally to Evonne Goolagong Cawley, whom she has often described as a mentor and inspiration, and to Margaret Court, whose records still define the upper limits of the sport.

Barty's 2011 Wimbledon girls' title, won as a teenager, was the first sign of what was to come.

Related guides

Read about Evonne Goolagong Cawley, modern Australian champions and the Australian Open.