The shocking news of top-ranked Ash Barty’s retirement from tennis at age 25, just two months after winning the Australian Open on her home soil, reverberated 10,000 miles away at the Miami Open on Wednesday.
Former No. 1 Naomi Osaka, who won her opening match 6-3, 6-4 over Astra Sharma in front of an adoring hometown audience at Hard Rock Stadium, learned of Barty’s retirement at 3:30 in the morning, when she checked her phone after waking up to use the bathroom.
“My friend texted me, she’s like, ‘Yo, do you know that Barty retired?’’’ and I was like, ‘Whoa, that’s weird.’ Then I went on Twitter and saw it was actually a thing.”
