Ashleigh Barty seemingly dropped a hint over her intentions to retire from tennis back in 2020 in a unique post-match press conference.
On Wednesday, Barty left the tennis world in shock by confirming she was stepping away from the sport at the age of just 25. Alongside a video clip of a discussion with former doubles partner and close friend Casey Dellacqua, she explained her decision to fans.
"Today is difficult and filled with emotion for me as I announce my retirement from tennis," she said. "I wasn’t sure how to share this news with you so I asked my good friend @caseydellacqua to help me.