SYDNEY: Australian tennis world No1 Ash Barty has announced her retirement from the spot at only 25.

Barty followed up her Wimbledon success last year by winning her home Australian Open earlier this year.

In an Instagram post, she said: “”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 . . . it’s time to chase other dreams.

“I don’t have the physical drive, the emotional want and everything it takes to challenge yourself at the very top of the level any more. I am spent.”

Barty was the Wimbledon junior champion at age 15 in 2011 then left the tour entirely for nearly two years in 2014 because of burnout, saying she was overwhelmed by the pressure and travel required.

She played professional cricket back home in Australia before returning to tennis. She went on to win singles major championships on three different surfaces – on clay at the 2019 French Open, on grass at Wimbledon last year and on the hard courts of Melbourne Park in January.

That victory made her the first Australian player in 44 years to triumph at the nation’s Grand Slam tournament.

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