How Ash Barty’s shock retirement changed women’s tennis forever

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Ash Barty irrevocably altered tennis history three years ago.

Barty’s shock decision to retire for a second time – at the peak of her powers, having just ended Australia’s 44-year title drought at her home grand slam – left a cavernous void in Australian tennis. But it was also hugely significant on the international scene.

Ash Barty celebrates after winning the 2021 Wimbledon crown over Karolina Pliskova.

Part of that is because of what Barty did next.

The triple grand slam champion, only 25 at the time, chose to leave the WTA Tour rankings immediately rather than watch her points dwindle across the next 10 months.

That meant Iga Swiatek – a then-21-year-old Polish star who had already won the 2020 Roland-Garros title, but had never taken even a set off Barty – became the new world No.1.

“There is no better person,” Barty said of Swiatek at the time. “She’s an incredible person, a great tennis player. The way that she’s brought this fresh, fearless energy onto the court has been incredible.”

The timing coincided with the start of the clay season, during which Swiatek ripped off a historic 37-match winning streak across 135 days, including her second of four major championships in Paris.

She is no longer No.1, but spent so long there after Barty’s retirement that she overtook the Australian champion and moved into seventh place all-time for weeks on top, one of the key criterion for rating the greats. Aryna Sabalenka – the current No.1 – is the only other WTA player to ascend to that status post-Barty.

Chasing an elusive Wimbledon title

Swiatek and Sabalenka have become the dominant pacesetters of women’s tennis, but have something else in common: neither has won a Wimbledon championship.

Barty achieved that feat at the 2021 edition, and that triumph sits proudly with her 2019 Roland-Garros trophy and 2022 Australian Open drought-buster.

Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the Wimbledon semi-finals for the third time on Tuesday.

“I think there’s no doubt we know, and I felt and witnessed, that Ash had their number when she was at her best,” Australia’s former top-10 star and ex-Billie Jean King Cup captain Alicia Molik told this masthead.

“I feel like once Ash stepped aside, it gave extra hope and meaning to slams for Iga and Aryna.”

The pair remain on a collision course for this year’s final, after Swiatek saw off Russia’s 19th seed Liudmila Samsonova – who ousted Australia’s two best women’s players, Maya Joint and Daria Kasatkina – 6-2, 7-5 on Wednesday to reach the semi-finals at the All England club for the first time.

Wimbledon men’s semi-finals set

World No.1 Jannik Sinner and seven-time champion Novak Djokovic will clash in a fourth grand slam semi-final at Wimbledon after winning on Wednesday.

Sinner played with strapping on the right elbow he injured in the fourth round against Grigor Dimitrov, but still beat big-serving American Ben Shelton, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4, 6-4.

Djokovic had an injury scare of his own on the second of his three match points, falling face first on Wimbledon’s grass after slipping while trying to retrieve a ball on his way to a 6-7 (6-8), 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 win over Italy’s Flavio Cobolli.

It was the second straight match that the 24-time major champion dropped the opening set after doing the same against Australia’s Alex de Minaur in the round of 16.

“I had a nasty slip, but that’s what happens when you play on the grass,” Djokovic said.

“I didn’t fall so far this year, which is a bit surprising because of the way I move on grass, with a lot of sliding and aggressive movement … I’m going to visit this subject with my physio and see how it is in two days.”

It is the second time they have met at this stage at the All England club, with Djokovic beating Sinner in straight sets two years ago.

However, Sinner won their past two slam semi-finals at the 2024 Australian Open and this year’s Roland-Garros. The Italian leads their head-to-head 5-4.

“We played quite a lot, so we understand what’s working and what’s not,” Sinner said. “But I’ve never won against him here in Wimbledon, so it’s going to be a very, very tough challenge.”

The other men’s semi-final was locked in on Tuesday between two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and American fifth seed Taylor Fritz.

Sabalenka made her third Wimbledon semi-final a day earlier, battling past 37-year-old German Laura Siegemund, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, in an error-strewn display, much like she has in almost every match this fortnight.

Up next for the Belarusian blaster is American Amanda Anisimova, who has matched her 2019 Roland-Garros performance with her SW19 showing.

Molik believes Sabalenka, more so than Swiatek, has “added a few extra dimensions to her game” since Barty’s retirement.

“I feel like she does have a grass-court game because she is willing to use her chip slice aggressively through the line,” she said.

Iga Swiatek has never played better at Wimbledon than she is this fortnight, Australian great Alicia Molik says.

“We are seeing her use, at times, the forehand slice as well, and she’s prepared to get to the net. In the last couple of years, we’ve seen her also incorporate the drop shot. What I like about Sabalenka is she can serve her away out of trouble, more than Iga, so I think that helps her game here.

“But I think Iga’s playing as well as she’s played in any single Wimbledon. She’s hitting the ball bigger and taking more chances, which I think you have to do on grass.

“It might come down to how they both handle the fact that they are the outright favourites now. Sometimes that sense of opportunity gets in the way.”

Asked this week to pick her most knowledgeable opponent, with the most “feel for the sport”, Sabalenka nominated Barty.

“She was always very smart, and she definitely understood the game quite well,” Sabalenka said.

“I think she was the smartest one.”

Retiring early

Barty first retired after the 2014 US Open, at only 18 years of age, citing burnout.

Her early success and multi-retirement career correlates somewhat with the “Swiss Miss”, five-time grand slam winner Martina Hingis, who retired three times, albeit for very different reasons to Barty.

The first time, at age 22, was due to persistent injuries, while the second, at 27, followed her testing positive for cocaine at Wimbledon. She retired for the third and final occasion in 2017 as a 37-year-old, having returned for that chapter as purely a doubles player.

“Ash was very young to make that decision, but I think it’s an evolution,” Hingis said.

“It’s normal that people make decisions, and it’s something I understand because Australia is so far [from where the tour is mostly played], and you’re always away from home. When you accomplish already what she wanted to achieve [it makes sense].”

Like Molik, Hingis expects Sabalenka, a dual Australian Open champion and last year’s US Open victor, to hold aloft her maiden Wimbledon title, although with one major caveat.

“Aryna and Swiatek have been the next up [since Barty]. Aryna was able to win her slams, and so was Iga, so it’s interesting,” Hingis said.

“It’s been quite a rollercoaster [this fortnight]. If Aryna can keep her head together, in a way, and keep her calm, she’s the favourite to win, but I think there are other players who are also interesting.”

One such player is Hingis’ unseeded countrywoman, Belinda Bencic, who advanced to her maiden Wimbledon semi-final on Wednesday with a 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-2) upset win over teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva.

Bencic is Swiatek’s semi-final opponent, and her impressive form suggests she could play the spoiler. They both won the junior girls’ title at Wimbledon. Bencic, too, took a mid-career break in late 2023 to have a child, Bella, who was born in April last year.

The former world No.4, now 28 years old, returned to the tour in late October and made the round of 16 at this year’s Australian Open before missing Roland-Garros with an arm injury.

The last mother to win the Wimbledon singles championship was Australia’s Evonne Goolagong 45 years ago.

“It’s not a surprise to me [how Bencic is playing] because we’ve always known that she can win tournaments,” Hingis said.

“She won the Olympics – she can play tennis. It’s more about getting back into shape. I think that’s something, in her case, that is an important factor. But if she’s happy, enjoying her moment and travelling with her family, it’s more about the coordination of everything and getting it all together.”

Marc McGowan travelled to Wimbledon with the support of Tennis Australia.