Ash Barty stands FIRM beside Simona Halep hoping she’ll be back on tour soon amid indefinite drug ban levied on her
Barty believes Halep will be back
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Ash Barty and Simona Halep (Image via Fox Sports)
They often say that you may leave the sport, but the sport doesn’t leave you. Something similar is cooking in Ash Barty‘s life. The former world no. 1 had rocked the tennis world after her shocking retirement from the sport at such a young age. Being so successful so early in her career, many felt that Barty would break all the possible records over the course of her career.
Well, it wasn’t to be as the former Wimbledon champion called it curtains after her win in Melbourne at the Australian Open last year. It’s been 14 months since she took the decision. She may not be on Tour anymore but closely follows every development in the tennis world.
Barty is very good friends with another former world no. 1 Simona Halep. Halep has been provisionally suspended from the tour following her positive drug test at the US Open last year. She recently pleaded to the authorities to make do with her case quicker so that she can come back on to the Tour. “I love Simo and I respect Simo. I’ve spoken to her a little bit over the last 12 months or so, just checking in to see how she is going. She is an exceptional person,” said Barty.
“I really sincerely hope that she has an opportunity to have her say and to explain her side, because there are always two sides to every story. I think you’d be struggling to find anyone who wouldn’t want to see her back out there doing what she absolutely loves, which is competing on a big stage against the best in the world.” Barty truly believes that Simona Halep has a lot of tennis left in her. Halep who is a multiple major champion certainly knows how to get to the top of the rankings and her fans would ask for just that.
Ash Barty living a busy post-retirement life
When you retire just at the age of 26, many feel that you might not know how to keep yourself busy. We’ll, Ash Barty is cut from a different cloth. According to her, she has never been busier than this. She published her autobiography ‘My Dream Time’. She also mentored youngsters such as Olivia Gadecki. Then she went to play an exhibition gold event in the USA. She now has decided to slow down as she is pregnant with her first child.
“There were periods where I felt like I had no idea what I was doing and then there were other periods where I felt like there weren’t enough hours in the day,” said Barty when asked about her post-retirement life. “The book tour … was a big project that took a lot of time and took a lot of energy. We wanted to do it well, but emotionally and mentally, it probably sapped more out of me than I realised.
“But it was awesome. I think it was a really nice way to kind of have that line in the sand, to literally close the chapter and look to what’s next. Then a few months ago, our world and our future was tipped on its head [with the pregnancy]. It’s been challenging. But it’s also been unique and, probably, everything I could have asked for.” The tennis world was disappointed when the Australian announced her retirement. However, now many of them would be happy as their star is enjoying life.
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Manan Mehta
(215 Articles Published)