By retiring at 25, as world No 1 and with three grand slam titles to her name, the Australian has been refreshingly true to herself
There is a photo of Ash Barty that never seems to get old. A six-year-old on a rain-soaked tennis court. Racket in one hand, junior trophy in the other. Familiar dimpled grin under a well-worn Nike cap. It is miniature Barty, a small kid with big stars in her eyes. That picture was taken in 2002 – 20 years before she would leave that tennis court for good, with all of those big things realised.
And perhaps there should have been even more. After Barty won the Australian Open in January, all the questions were around not whether she would win another grand slam, but how many she would win. That the answer is now and will forever be zero feels incomprehensible. She is a player at her peak – literally at the top of the rankings. She has stood there for the best part of three years and remains unchallenged.