Tennis Random, Random (On Court)

[dryrunguy]

It's her decision. Let's respect it. And yes, she's free to change her mind--again.

[JTContinental]

^ Again?

She'll be back.

The last time, she went to play cricket.
I assume that this time, she'll go play golf.
It's tough when you can play numerous sports at a high level - you have to satisfy the inherent challenge in each.
She'll be back.

I will miss nothing about her drab game, but I do wish her the best. If the pandemic has brought anything positive, it's that people are making decisions to stop doing things that don't bring them joy anymore.

[ponchi101]

Amidst all this: we have a new #1, in a fashion that has never happened before. And is it the #1 with the lowest point total in history?

[skatingfan]

Amidst all this: we have a new #1, in a fashion that has never happened before. And is it the #1 with the lowest point total in history?

Justine Henin retired at #1 - she was also 25 at the time - that's how Ivanovic became #1 after the French Open that year. Point totals were much lower in the past as tournament values have changed over time. Ivanovic had 4200+ points when she was #1.

[ashkor87]

this is the third casualty, perhaps, of the exremely onerous australian covid rules - first Djokovic, then Cahill, now Barty.. I wonder how many more careers will be damaged/destroyed..

[ashkor87]

Barty's commitment to tennis was always a bit low.. I had bemoaned her lack of 'responsibility to the game' - this is the culmination..
of course, it is a purely personal decision, we should not criticize her for it . She has every right to live her life...

[Deuce]

this is the third casualty, perhaps, of the exremely onerous australian covid rules - first Djokovic, then Cahill, now Barty.. I wonder how many more careers will be damaged/destroyed..

Ok - you're free to wonder that...
I, myself, wonder how much suffering has been avoided and how many lives have been saved because of Australia's rigid COVID rules.

Meanwhile... Barty doesn't seem to feel that her career has been damaged or destroyed.
I doubt that Cahill feels any resentment over the COVID rules, either.
As for the other guy... well...

[Jeff from TX]

Not shocked but I will miss her style and grace, on and off the court. I wish she had played longer to encourage more complete players - and she was a most complete player in terms of her skill set. I found her game to be anything but drab compared to many other players. She has virtually all the shots.

[dmforever]

Amidst all this: we have a new #1, in a fashion that has never happened before. And is it the #1 with the lowest point total in history?

Justine Henin retired at #1 - she was also 25 at the time - that's how Ivanovic became #1 after the French Open that year. Point totals were much lower in the past as tournament values have changed over time. Ivanovic had 4200+ points when she was #1.

I thought she was 28 or 29 when she retired. Or maybe you are talking about her first retirement. Or maybe I"m wrong. I miss Henin's game too.

Kevin

[dmforever]

Not shocked but I will miss her style and grace, on and off the court. I wish she had played longer to encourage more complete players - and she was a most complete player in terms of her skill set. I found her game to be anything but drab compared to many other players. She has virtually all the shots.

Why are you not shocked? I'm just curious.

Kevin

[texasniteowl]

Well...I'm a little disappointed, but not shocked. Talking heads have been mentioning rumors for a while. Her break years ago to play cricket was in part because of being homesick. And last year, due to covid rules, she was out of Australia for such a long period of time. I can't imagine how hard that was. She's won Wimbledon and her home slam. She's engaged...is the wedding later this year? She just seems to me like a homebody and just doesn't want to do the traveling anymore.

[skatingfan]

I thought she was 28 or 29 when she retired. Or maybe you are talking about her first retirement. Or maybe I"m wrong. I miss Henin's game too.

Her first retirement - when she was #1 - that was the point that this is not the first time that someone inherited the #1 ranking when someone retired.

[ashkor87]

The great thing about tennis is, since it is not a team game, players can retire and return at will..good thing, really, for the game, this flexibility..

[Suliso]

Assuming Barty's name is removed from the rankings immediately following Miami 99% chance Iga Swiatek is our new #1 player. Not too bad...

[Jeff from TX]

Not shocked but I will miss her style and grace, on and off the court. I wish she had played longer to encourage more complete players - and she was a most complete player in terms of her skill set. I found her game to be anything but drab compared to many other players. She has virtually all the shots.

Why are you not shocked? I'm just curious.

Kevin

Because she has always had a higher level of identity/internal motivation that was not totally tied to tennis nor did she ever really seem to let it control/be the most important thing in her life. It was obvious that her focus was not solely on winning titles or GS - while that may have been motivating to her, it never seemed to take on the level of importance that it did for other players, and she did not seem to be one of those players who did not thrive on the competitive aspect of the sport. Don't get me wrong - I think she was quite competitive, but it never seemed to be quite as important as it was to many other players. I don't think that is either a good or a bad thing, she just seems to have a fairly different type of personality than many of the other top players and seems to have a "bigger" picture view of the world and the success she has had.