Ash Barty has proved she’s a multitalented sporting freak with her first title since her shock retirement from tennis.
Ash Barty has won her first title since retiring from tennis, at a local golf tournament in Brisbane over the weekend.
The 25-year-old shocked the sporting world when she announced her retirement from professional tennis last month at the very top of her game.
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Barty was the longstanding World No. 1 and claimed her third grand slam title at the Australian Open in January, but said she had achieved all her goals in tennis and the time was right to chase her other dreams.
There has been plenty of speculation Barty will trade in her tennis racquet for a golf club or cricket bat and she did little to quell those rumours with her first sporting victory since retiring from tennis.
On Saturday, Barty won the ladies competition at the Brookwater Golf and Country Club in Brisbane’s outskirts.
The Queenslander, who plays off a handicap of 4, finished first in a field of five women.
Barty was awarded $30 for her efforts, which pales into comparison of the $31,920,112 in prize money she won during her tennis career — making her the 14th highest all-time earning female player.
It’s not the first golfing success Barty has had. She has long been a talented golfer and it was just over two years ago that Barty stunned American golfing great Tiger Woods at an exhibition event.
“She’s got a great swing, are you kidding me?” Woods exclaimed after Barty lofted a wedge into Melbourne’s Yarra River.
Barty went on to win her first ever competitive tournament, the Brookwater club’s women’s championship, in 2020.
Two-time Queensland amateur champion Louis Dobbelaar, who won the men’s club championship the same day, was asked whether Barty could turn professional.
“She’s got all the tools if she wants to pursue it. If she put her mind to it, I’m sure she could,” he responded.
“I’ve seen quite a lot of golfers come from different sports and she’s the one that stands out the most, by far actually.”
Barty’s love for golf also played an important role in her love life. She first met fiance Garry Kissick at the Brookwater Golf and Country Club in 2016.
While Barty clearly has the talent to pursue a professional career in another sport, she has stayed tightlipped on her what her next move will be.