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No. 1 tennis player Ash Barty's retirement at age 25 was shocking but not surprising | Opinion
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Ashleigh Barty’s announcement Tuesday night that she was retiring at age 25, just weeks after winning the Australian Open, broke through as a mainstream sports story in a way that her tennis career never really did.
With the variety in her game, the cleanliness of her forehand strike and the skidding mendacity of her backhand slice, Barty was a tennis player’s tennis player who had clearly established herself over the last year as the best in the world. But outside of Australia, she was not a classic superstar or box office draw — largely because she didn’t want to be.
Barty’s sudden retirement had a lot of people who don’t follow the sport closely questioning why somebody in the absolute prime of their career, who could have certainly added several more Grand Slam titles to the three she already won, would step away now.
All across sports, we are seeing athletes go to extreme lengths to extend their careers whether it’s Tom Brady’s un-retirement, LeBron James’ desire to be on a team with his son and Roger Federer working as we speak to come back despite a third surgery on his right knee and no guarantee that he will be competitive at the top level.
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But Barty’s announcement, while shocking, should not actually be much of a surprise.
Among all the professional sports in the world, tennis is arguably the most grueling lifestyle. Many of the top players, especially women, are professionals by their mid-teens. To make it big usually requires years of scratching and clawing through minor tournaments and qualifying events into the big ones so that eventually you can get a ranking high enough to pick and choose where you want to play.
Then comes life on the big tour, where you’re away from home for months at a time playing an individual sport, jetting from one country to the next to chase money and trophies with an offseason that last about six weeks. And when you finally get to the top of the game as Barty did, the margins between winning and losing are so small that the process of maniacal work on your game never really ends until you’re just ready to stop.
With nearly $24 million in prize money, millions more in endorsements and the two trophies she coveted most — Wimbledon and the Australian Open — that was enough for a player who loved the sport but not everything that came along with it.
In a sense, Barty was one of the first professional athletes to put a spotlight on mental health when she first walked away from tennis under much different circumstances in 2014. At the time, Barty was just 18 years old and not among the top 100 singles players in the world but returned to Australia and became a professional cricket player. Whether it was burnout or struggling with the pressure to live up to the expectations put on her as a junior Wimbledon champion at age 15, she had a desire to live a more normal life than the one she had experienced up to that point.
Though Barty came back to tennis in 2016, the yearning for normalcy — and home — remained a constant theme. She had little interest in being a celebrity or social media star, preferring to sit in the stands with a beer and watch soccer just like everyone else.
In fact, the well-known GIF of Barty celebrating a goal that circulated on social media in October 2020 occurred during the French Open, which was held in the fall because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Barty was the defending champion, having won her first major there. But as the tennis world resumed its schedule that year, Barty chose to stay in Australia rather than deal with the massive logistical challenges, quarantines and restrictions of leaving (and then returning) to her country. Simply because of the distance and travel, being an Australian in a global sport has always been a more difficult road. COVID made it exponentially tougher.
When Barty returned to the tour in 2021, some questioned whether the No. 1 ranking Barty earned at the end of 2019 was still legitimate because of the WTA’s pandemic adjustments that kept her on top despite not playing for nearly a full year. In the meantime, Naomi Osaka had won two Grand Slams and others were making meaningful inroads at the highest level.
Barty responded with utter dominance, winning Miami, Stuttgart, Wimbledon and Cincinnati to put a complete stranglehold on the top ranking, all while spending seven consecutive months away from home.
After coming back in the same form to start 2022, winning all 11 matches she played and not dropping a set at the Australian Open, it’s hard to think of an athlete who walked away at such a peak.
But not everyone is driven by setting records, stacking titles or playing as long as their body will allow. As Barty noted in the video announcing her retirement, Wimbledon was her No. 1 career goal and she checked that off the list last year. Then she became the first Aussie woman since 1978 to win her home Grand Slam title.
With all the money she’ll ever need and a Hall of Fame career already secured, Barty decided there was more happiness for her to chase outside of tennis than in it. Wouldn’t we all sign up for that deal if we could?
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Travel
Razzies royally torch 'Diana' musical and 'Space Jam 2,' show love to Oscar favorite Will Smith
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In its proclamation of the worst films of 2021, the Razzies lambasted a critically reviled Princess Diana musical and LeBron James’ “Space Jam” sequel, but spread love instead of hate for Will Smith.
The Golden Raspberry Awards, annually announced the day before the Academy Awards, bestowed five dishonors on Netflix’s “Diana: The Musical,” a filmed production of the recent Broadway show that closed after 33 performances. “Diana” beat out “Infinite,” “Karen,” “Space Jam: A New Legacy” and “The Woman in the Window” for worst picture, plus picked up worst screenplay and worst actress for star Jeanna de Waal.
“New Legacy,” the live-action/animated hybrid basketball comedy featuring James hooping it up with Bugs Bunny and Co., earned three Razzie awards. James was named worst actor and also was saddled with worst screen couple – which went to James and “Any Warner Cartoon Character (or WarnerMedia Product) He Dribbles On” – while the movie snagged worst sequel.
How to watch the 2022 Oscars:Everything you should know about Sunday’s Academy Awards
“House of Gucci” star Jared Leto lost his Screen Actors Guild race for best supporting actor but nabbed the Razzie for worst. And Bruce Willis does so many VOD movies now that he received his own special category (worst performance by Bruce Willis in a 2021 movie) that, to no one’s surprise, he won – for “Cosmic Sin.”
Smith, who’s expected to win the best actor Oscar Sunday for “King Richard,” received this year’s Razzie Redeemer Award for previous Razzie honorees who’ve come back with quality efforts. Recent winners include Ben Affleck, Sylvester Stallone, Melissa McCarthy and Eddie Murphy.
The full list of this year’s Razzie “winners”:
Worst picture: “Diana: The Musical”
Worst actor: LeBron James, “Space Jam: A New Legacy”
Worst actress: Jeanna de Waal, “Diana: The Musical”
Worst supporting actress: Judy Kaye, “Diana: The Musical”
Worst supporting actor: Jared Leto, “House of Gucci”
Worst performance by Bruce Willis in a 2021 movie: Bruce Willis, “Cosmic Sin”
Worst screen couple: LeBron James and Any Warner Cartoon Character
(or WarnerMedia Product) He Dribbles On, “Space Jam: A New Legacy”
Worst remake, rip-off or sequel: “Space Jam: A New Legacy”
Worst director: Christopher Ashley, “Diana: The Musical”
Worst screenplay: “Diana: The Musical”
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Business
As more marijuana dispensaries get targeted by robbers, SAFE Banking Act lingers in Congress
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A bill that could allow electronic transactions at weed dispensaries nationwide is again make its way through Congress but the SAFE Banking Act might not be the cure-all that supporters envision.
In over a decade of operating cannabis shops in Washington, Shea Hynes never once worried about his stores getting robbed at gun point – until recently: In a span of three weeks, his stores were robbed three different times at gun point.
Reports of armed robberies at cannabis dispensaries like Hynes’ have nearly doubled in the first quarter of this year compared with all of last year, according to data maintained by the Craft Cannabis Coalition. The group, which represents more than 50 stores in Washington, has recorded more than 65 armed robberies so far this year, compared with 35 in 2021 and 29 in 2020.
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CHICAGO — In a ridiculous coincidence, the Saint Peter’s Peacocks wrote NCAA Tournament history on National Peacock Day with a thrilling upset of Purdue.
The mid-major became the first-ever No. 15 seed to reach the Elite Eight, outdoing previous No. 15 seeds Oral Roberts (2021) and Florida Gulf Coast (2013). Exactly 0.8% of people picked the Peacocks to get this far, with the school from Jersey City, New Jersey, defying all odds. Is Saint Peter’s the best Cinderella of all time?
Meanwhile, the ACC is sitting pretty with three teams – Duke and now North Carolina and Miami (Fla.) – in the Elite Eight on the same day the Big Ten saw its last team go down.
A look at three key takeaways from Friday:
Saint Peter’s writes NCAA history
Coach Shaheen Holloway has this team playing inspired basketball, and now the Peacocks (22-11) are just one win from the Final Four. The best Cinderellas of the last two decades to reach Final Fours – George Mason in 2006, VCU in 2011, Loyola-Chicago (2018) all were double-digit seeded mid-majors. But none was as highly seeded as this Saint Peter’s team that’s now beaten No. 2 seed Kentucky, No. 7 Murray State and No. 3 Purdue.
WINNERS, LOSERS:Poised Saint Peter’s keeps the dream alive; bye-bye, Big Ten; hello, ACC
OPINION:Saint Peter’s embodies wackiness and uncertainty of this NCAA Tournament
ANALYSIS:Purdue’s loss leaves Big Ten shut out of Elite Eight. We could see this coming.
MORE:Legendary Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson: Coach K’s farewell tour ends Saturday
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While other bracket-busting NCAA Tournament darlings of yesteryear have had flair (FGCU’s “Dunk City”) or a lovable fan (Loyola’s Sister Jean), this team from the MAAC is doing it with defense, namely with nine steals. In spite of being undersized against the Boilermakers, the Peacocks used aggressiveness and hustle to outduel their seemingly superior opponent behind 6-8 freshman Clarence Rubert and 6-7 junior Hassan Drame. Daryl Banks III (14 points) is the go-to scorer for Saint Peter’s, but Mr. Clutch has been guard Doug Edert (10 points) off the bench. One stat to note: a 19-for-21 clip from the free-throw line. What’s been most impressive is the Peacocks’ ability to stay hungry and poised under pressure, winning close games in all three NCAA Tournament matchups.
Blue-bloods show title potential
Duke and Villanova advanced on Thursday, and fellow blue-bloods Kansas and North Carolina will now join them in the Elite Eight. And yes, if both the Blue Devils and Tar Heels win Sunday, we could see them meet in the Final Four.
Ever since North Carolina embarrassed Duke in coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final home game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Heels have been red-hot – knocking out No. 1 Baylor in the previous game in overtime. That continued against a UCLA team that reached the Final Four last year and seemed destined to get back. Caleb Love was brilliant again, finishing with 30 points off six three-pointers. Armando Bacot’s tip-in with 22 seconds left sealed the win in another impressive outing for coach Hubert Davis’ resilient team.
The last remaining No. 1 in the NCAA Tournament, Kansas stayed alive, escaping Providence by five points. It’s coach Bill Self’s ninth trip to the Elite Eight with Kansas and 11th of his career, as the Jayhawks (31-6) are one win from the Final Four. They’ve now won eight in a row and are looking like a title contender after entering the NCAA Tourney having won the Big 12 tournament.
The secret weapon for Kansas has been guard Remy Martin. For the third consecutive tournament game, Kansas got a jolt off the bench from the fiery Martin (23 points), the Arizona State transfer who has erupted in these NCAAs after playing a reserve role throughout 2021-22.
ACC > Big Ten
Despite garnering nine NCAA Tournament bids on Selection Sunday – the most of any conference – the Big Ten is out following Purdue’s stunning exit vs. Saint Peter’s. The league tanked in the first two rounds, with No. 5 Iowa – the conference tourney champ – getting upset by Richmond in the first round. No. 3 Wisconsin, No. 4 Illinois, No. 7 Michigan State and No. 7 Ohio State all lost in the second round. And now, with Michigan’s loss to Villanova, the overall underachievement is on full display. That’s a 9-9 finish in the tournament.
No Big Ten team has cut down the nets since 2000 (the Spartans), and it’s a depressing outlook for the league that posted the second-best NET score in 2021-22 and showcased several teams with Final Four potential.
The ACC, which finished with the sixth-worst NET score as a league, has Duke, North Carolina and Miami all in the Elite Eight. That’s after the Tar Heels, Hurricanes and Notre Dame were all bubble teams in early March. The NCAA Tournament is about matchups and pathways. No matter how well the Big Ten did in the regular season, much like the Pac-12’s surprising finish last year, the ACC is well-positioned with three teams still alive and two of them title contenders.
Follow college basketball reporter Scott Gleeson on Twitter @ScottMGleeson.
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