At 19 years old, Ashleigh Barty, at least for the present, has given up professional tennis to play Twenty20 cricket with the Brisbane Heat in the inaugural Women’s Big Bash League (“WBBL”).
In September 2014, the young Australian announced that she was taking an indefinite break from tennis. She wanted to spend some time at home with her family and “enjoy being a kid.” Since then Barty has coached junior tennis players and in July started training with the Queensland Fire after expressing an interest in playing cricket.
Although Barty had never played cricket before, Andy Richards, Queensland Fire coach, noted that her athleticism and ball skills were “extremely transferable” from tennis to cricket. Later he added, “Her skill from the first time she picked up a bat was outstanding from a coach’s perspective.” The Ipswich native is drawn to cricket as a team sport as opposed to tennis. In a press conference today, she said “It is tough when you’re by yourself and I think that is why team sport is so appealing. There’s never a lonesome moment on the (cricket) field. There’s 10 other girls that can help you out and get you through the tough times.”
This is not a financial decision. As a WBBL player, Barty could earn a maximum of $10,000. Her prize money in her short career as a professional player was in excess of $930,000. Money does not seem to be Barty’s main concern. She considers money a “side-bonus” of the opportunity of playing professional sport.
Highly rated as a junior tennis player, Barty won the Wimbledon Girls Championship in 2011. She started her professional tennis career at the age of 15 in April 2010. She has 4 ITF titles to her credit and reached her highest ranking of 129 in September 2013. In 2013, Barty and tennis partner / friend Casey Dellacqua reached the finals in the three of the Grand Slams – Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open. In 2014, they made the quarterfinals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Barty earned a place on the Australian Fed Cup squad in 2013 (the second youngest player to do so) and 2014.
Time will tell if Barty attempts a return to the WTA. She has said, “I’m still connected very much to tennis and everything it has to offer. It’s been a part of me since I was four years old and is never going to leave me.”
