Former World No. 1 Ash Barty may have retired, but the Australian legend has shown once again why she is an absolute champion.
She may have retired from tennis, but Ash Barty continues to show that she is a deadset champion.
Ever since she shocked people by announcing she was leaving the sport at the age of 25, Barty has kept busy, adding a local golf title to her cloak, putting on a shoe at a golf charity day and falling for AFL’s Big Freeze at Rafiki. from king of the Lions.
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But there is no doubt that the Australian superstar still has some attraction in the tennis arena, as questions arise as to who will open the proceedings this year at the Center Court in Wimbledon – the tournament Barty won last year.
The opening match at the Center Court at the All England Club usually features the defending champions, but with Barty retiring, it has not yet been confirmed who will receive this award next week.
Following the cancellation of the 2020 Grand Slam due to Covid, Barty opened the tournament in 2021, although he did not win in 2019.
Simona Halep, who won the 2019 title, was disqualified from last year’s tournament due to injury, allowing her Australian opponent to take her place.
It was something that did not sit well with Barty at the time.
“With all my heart I would like Simo to be here to do it herself (starting from Center Court),” she told the BBC after her three-set victory over veteran Carla Suarez Navarro. “She is a champion. He has won the right to open this court
“In order to be given the honor when I did not fully deserve it, I wanted to go out here and respect it.
“It is an honor and a privilege and I was extremely humiliated when Jamie (Baker tournament manager) asked me to come out here and play in this beautiful stadium. “I could not be more proud to be out here.”
Barty’s former coach Craig Tyzzer has hinted that Queenslander may have wanted to reciprocate the favor this year, now Halep is back in action.
Reply to tweet from The Tennis PodcastAsked who should win the Center’s first match, tennis analyst and former Halep coach Darren Cahill wrote: “This must be Simona Halep.
“Covid missed the 2020 tournament and could not play last year due to injury, so Ash Barty received the award. With Ash retired, the privilege and honor must return to Simo. She has won it as the champion of 2019 “.
Tyzzer replied: “I totally agree with Killer and I think someone may have already asked for it”, followed by a winking emoji.
Without much effort to read between the lines, Cahill wrote: “It would be awesome. Quite typical for someone like that “.
Tennis reporter Craig Gabriel replied to Tyzzer: “Give him an AO (Australian Battalion). “Oh, they already did.”
All England Club president Ian Hewitt said in April that no decision had been made, confirming that he would be: “The No. 1 in the world, the second or other prominent players”.