Ashleigh Barty makes ANOTHER career change, Australian champion to mull quitting tennis?

Cricket champion and 2019's French Open Women's singles winner, Ashleigh Barty has made her mark in yet another sport. After withdrawing from the French Open this year due to COVID-19 related concerns, Ashleigh Barty has won the Brookwater Golf  Club women’s championship. Probably the only sportsperson in the world to have participated at the highest levels in two major sports, Ashleigh Barty is not content with dominating just two sports it seems. 

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Ashleigh Barty golf championship win 

Ashleigh Barty has taken the golf world by storm this COVID season after winning the Brookwater Golf Club women’s championship. The sporting superstar claimed the trophy with an outstanding seven and five win in the final. She also won her semi-final in brilliant fashion, with five holes to play. Barty is no stranger to the sport though, considering that her father Robert once represented the country in the amateur golf championships. 

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Will Ashleigh Barty return to tennis?

Despite not having played a single game of tennis for almost seven months, Barty is still ranked as the Women's World No.1 by the WTA. Her last game came against No.11 Petra Kvitova on February 28, 2020. The two battled it out at the semi-final of the Qatar Open before the coronavirus pandemic raged through the world, bringing the sports world to a standstill. Barty lost that semi-final in three sets, 4-6, 6-2, 4-6. Her last Grand Slam appearance was at the Australian Open 2020 where she once again, reached the semi-final before being defeated by American Sofia Kenin. 

This year, Ashleigh Barty would've been the defending champion at the French Open. However, she announced that she would not be participating in the Grand Slam to defend her first and only Grand Slam title. This decision may have been, in part, affected by the decision of the organizers to allow small numbers of audiences at the event. Barty had had a dream run at the tournament last year, defeating Marketa Vondroušová 6-1, 6-3 to win the title. She had only dropped two sets the entire tournament. 

She hasn't made any statements saying she will not return to the game once things go back to normal but also hasn't indicated when a return might take place. Barty had also taken a break from tennis in 2014 when she took up cricket for a while. 

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Ashleigh Barty's WBBL stint

After her 2014 season, Barty decided to take a break from tennis. At this time, she signed up with the Women's Big Bash League team, Brisbane Heat, for the inaugural edition of the tournament. In her debut cricket match, Barty made 39 off 27 balls with one six in a match against the Melbourne Stars, the second-highest score on her team. However, the rest of her performance was average and she returned to tennis in 2016. 

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Image Credits: Tennis Australia Twitter