Retired Wimbledon champion Ash Barty has made a classy gesture to her former rival Simona Halep, after requesting for the Romanian to open this year’s Wimbledon. Historically, the opening match of the famous grass court event is played by the defending champion.
Barty came away from SW19 last year with the title after defeating Karolína Plíšková in the 2021 final. The Australian star is of course not there this time around to open the tournament, after announcing her shock retirement from the sport earlier this year.
On the way to her 2021 title, Barty was the player to open Wimbledon due to the 2020 edition of the tournament being cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
