World No.1 and three-time major champion Ashleigh Barty (Ash Barty) has announced her shock retirement from tennis at the age of 25.

Her retirement announcement read;

“The time is right now for me to step away and chase other dreams and to put the racquets down.”

“I wasn’t quite sure of how I was gonna do this,” an emotional Barty said to good friend and former doubles partner Casey Dellacqua in a video posted to Barty’s social media.

She said: “It’s hard to say … 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.”

Barty is the current world No. 1 ladies’ singles player, simply the second Australian to arrive at that status in the WTA rankings period after individual Aboriginal lady Evonne Goolagong Cawley.

Barty came out on top for three Grand Slam singles championships, her initial shock triumph at the French Open in 2019, preceding winning Wimbledon in 2021 and the Australian Open recently – making her the defending champ in two of the four Grand Slams.