Retired Australian tennis great Ash Barty is set to return to the scene of one of her greatest accomplishments when she takes part in an exhibition doubles match at Wimbledon.
The 2021 Wimbledon singles champ hasn’t played on the grass courts of Wimbledon since she defeated Karolína Plíšková in three sets in the final three years ago, and has largely stayed away from tennis since her shock retirement in 2022.
Barty abruptly ended her career after winning the 2022 Australian Open. Since then she has started a family and released a children’s book.
Wimbledon announced Barty’s participation in a post on Instagram.
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Barty’s partner for the doubles event is yet to be announced.
Casey Dellacqua and Alicia Molik played in the 2022 invitational event, while last year Renae Stubbs joined forces with Serbian Nenad Zimonjić to win the mixed doubles portion.
Australian Wendy Turnbull won the first ladies’ invitation doubles event in 1990, alongside British legend and 1977 singles champion, Virginia Wade.
Wimbledon will begin on July 1 and the exhibition event will kick off on July 9, with Barty set to play at least three matches as part of the women’s doubles tournament.
Barty will also be featuring as a commentator at Wimbledon this year.
Posted 1h ago1 hours agoThu 20 Jun 2024 at 5:51am
via The Novum Times
The Novum Times 