Ash Barty had been planning to retire for more than a year before she shocked the world by stepping away from tennis at just 25.
The Queenslander announced via a video posted to her Instagram account on Wednesday morning that she was retiring from the sport after spending almost three years as the world’s top player.
Barty has slowly been piecing her future together over the past 12 months, with her net worth rising to $21.6 million.
She is building a multi-million dollar mega-mansion in Ipswich, increasing her burgeoning property portfolio, and signed endorsement deals with Jaguar, Vegemite, Fila, Rado, and Uber Eats.
Ash Barty had plans in motion to sensationally retire from tennis aged 25 dating as far back as the beginning of last year
The Queenslander sensationally announced through a video posted to her Instagram account she was retiring from the sport after spending almost three years as the world’s top player
Australian tennis legend Pat Rafter claimed Barty told him she was going to retire after her 2021 Wimbleton title, but decided to hold off until after the Australian Open.
‚I’ve been seeing this coming for a while. We’d spoken a little bit at the Aussie Open last year, she had her mind set on winning Wimbleton and retiring then,‘ Rafter told 2GB Radio.
‚I was a little surprised she’d come around again but I’m so happy for her. She’s gone out on her own terms… she knows what she wants.‘
The 25-year-old alluded to savouring the ‚memories‘ of her successes following her Australian Open win in January, rather than obsessing over tangible things like trophies – a hint that Barty felt she accomplished everything she wanted in tennis.
‚It’s a dream come true for me and I’m just so proud to be an Aussie,‘ she said.
‚But for me it’s about the memories more than the trophies, it’s the memories we make from the whole journey.‘
Barty has slowly been piecing her future together over the past 12 months, with her net worth rising to an astonishing $21.6 million. She is currently building a multi-million dollar mega mansion in Brisbane (pictured)
‚I’ve been seeing this coming for awhile. We’d spoken a little bit at the Aussie Open last year, she had her mind set on winning Wimbleton and retiring then,‘ tennis legend Pat Rafter said
Barty recently pulled out of the remainder of the WTA Tour season following her Wimbleton triumph in 2021, her maiden title at the All England Club and second grand slam title.
She turned down the opportunity to play in the tour’s finals, with a mammoth $19 million on offer for the winner, saying she was focused solely on preparing for the Australian Open.
‚I wanted to let everyone know that I won’t be competing in any further tournaments in 2021, including the WTA Finals in Mexico,‘ Barty said last year.
‚It was a difficult decision but I need to prioritise my body and my recovery from our 2021 season and focus on having the strongest pre-season for the Australian summer.‘
She then pulled out of the Sydney Tennis Classic, the precursor to the Australian Open, before producing a dominant display at Melbourne Park to win her first home grand slam without dropping a single set.
Barty had plans to retire after the 2021 Wimbleton Championship – but instead decided to delay plans until the 2022 Australian Open in an attempt to capture her home slam
The 25-year-old is engaged to golfer Garry Kissick, with the pair about to move into a mansion in Brisbane’s west. The couple met on the golf course a few years ago
Indigenous icon Evonne Goolagong presents Barty with the 2022 Australian Open trophy
Meanwhile, the Queenslander was quietly building a property portfolio, the latest being a $882,000 plot of land in Ipswich, west of Brisbane, last year.
She and her golfer fiancé Garry Kissick are building a lavish mansion on the land in the exclusive community of Brookwater, with Daily Mail Australia told she is living in a rental next door.
Barty grew up in the region and said in the video she ‚couldn’t imagine living anywhere else when not travelling the world‘.
‚You can hear the birds in the morning. You can see the sun rise. It’s just all those little things that make a home a home,‘ she said.
‚I love how low-key the lifestyle is here at Brookwater. That’s where I see myself forever.‘
She also owns a modest $650,000 four-bedroom house in Springfield Lakes, also in Ipswich, and owns another property in nearby Augustine Heights, which she bought for $243,036 in 2016.
Barty’s mansion at Brookwater in Brisbane’s west is close to where she grew up in Ipswich (pictured, an artist impression of what the home may look like)
The new Barty mansion backs onto a golf course – perfect for partner and PGA Trainee Professional Garry Kissick
The designs for the Australian Open champion’s stunning new home – currently being built on an $880,000 plot of land
On Wednesday, she shocked the sports world with the announcement that she was stepping away from tennis, despite being the sport’s dominant and reigning champion.
Barty alluded to having other priorities after achieving all her goals and felt it was time to hang up the raquet.
‚I just know that I’m absolutely – I am spent. I just know, physically, I have nothing more to give,‘ she told close friend and former Australian tennis player Casey Dellacqua.
‚And that, for me is, is success. I’ve given absolutely everything I can to this beautiful sport of tennis.‘
Barty admitted she had ‚other dreams‘ to chase, with the prospects of starting a family with her partner believed to have influenced the decision.
‚I know that the time is right, now, for me to step away and chase other dreams,‘ she said.
‚Ash Barty the person has so many dreams that she wants to chase after that don’t necessarily involve travelling the world, being away from my family being away from my home.‘
Ash Barty: A short but glittering tennis career
April 2010 – Ash Barty turns professional at just 14-years-old, playing in an ITF Women’s Circuit tournament in her hometown of Ipswich
June 2011 – Wins the girls‘ singles title at Wimbleton – her first junior grand slam
January 2012 – Debuts in her first professional grand slam at just 16 as a wildcard at the Australian Open
January 2013 – Handed another wildcard at the Australian Open
February 2013 – First WTA Tour win at the Malaysian Open
May 2013 – Wins first grand slam match at French Open
June 2013 – Wins first WTA title in the doubles with Casey Dellacqua at the Birmingham Open
September 2014 – Takes hiatus from professional tennis because she wanted to be a ’normal teenage girl and have some normal experiences‘
July 2015 – Signs with the Brisbane Heat to play in the inaugural Women’s Big Bash League
February 2016 – Announces her return to tennis following the competion of the WBBL season
February 2017 – Wins first WTA title at the Malaysian Open
January 2018 – Earns first grand slam seeding of her career as no.18 at the Australian Open
September 2018 – Wins first grand slam title in the doubles at the US Open alongside Coco Vandeweghe
June 2019 – Wins first grand slam singles title at the French Open – the first Australian to win at Roland Garros since Margaret Court in 1973
June 2019 – Becomes the first Australian woman to be world no.1 since Evonne Goolagong
August 2020 – Takes 11-month hiatus from tennis due to Covid pandemic
July 2021 – Wins first Wimbleton title, the first Australian woman since Goolagong in 1980
July 2021 – Wins bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in mixed doubles alongside John Peers
August 2021 – pulls out of the remainder of the season to focus on Aus Open
January 2022 – Wins maiden Australian Open title, becoming the eighth woman to win on three different surfaces
March 2022 – Retires from tennis