Australian Open champion Ashleigh Barty has stunned the tennis world by announcing her shock retirement from the game, less than two months after the biggest win of her career. The 25-year-old women’s world No 1 posted a video on her official Instagram account saying she was “so happy, and so ready” to make the move. In an emotional interview with friend Casey Dellacqua, a television commentator and two time Olympian, Barty said she knows “in my heart for me as a person this is right”. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ash Barty (@ashbarty) Australian prime minister Scott Morrison and fellow Australian tennis great Samantha Stosur were two of many to respond to Barty’s surprise announcement. “I do want to say thank you for inspiring the country, inspiring a nation at a time when this country really needed a good shot in the arm,” Morrison said. “None of us will forget, of course, the triumphant win in Wimbledon and none of us will ever forget that incredible comeback down there at the Australian Open this year, which once again showed everybody what you can do when you really apply yourself.” Stosur, a former world No 1 doubles champion, said Barty had always followed her heart. “Congrats for all you have achieved Ash. Incredible career,” Stosur posted on Instagram. “You’ve always done it your way and so good for you to follow your heart and once again do it your way with this decision. Can’t wait to hear what is next for you but in the meantime enjoy retirement.” Barty became the first Australian to win her home grand slam in 44 years in January, beating American Danielle Collins in straight sets. Afterwards she said it was “a dream come true”. “It’s the first time I’ve actually said it out loud and, yeah, it’s hard to say,” Barty told her former doubles partner Dellacqua in the video interview. “But I’m so happy, and I’m so ready. “I don’t have the physical drive, the emotional want and everything it takes to challenge yourself at the very top of the level any more. I am spent.” Barty, who left tennis in 2014 to pursue a professional cricket career but returned to the sport two years later, won her three major singles titles on three different surfaces – on clay at the 2019 French Open, on grass at Wimbledon last year and on the hard courts of Melbourne Park at the Australian Open in January. For every young girl that has looked up to you. For every one of us that you've inspired. For your love of the game. Thank you, @ashbarty for the incredible mark you've left on-court, off-court and in our hearts 💜 pic.twitter.com/6wp9fmO439 — wta (@WTA) March 23, 2022 Women’s Tennis Association chairman and CEO Steve Simon said Barty had established herself as one the great champions of the WTA. “With her accomplishments at the Grand Slams, WTA Finals and reaching the pinnacle ranking of No 1 in the world, she has clearly established herself as one the great champions of the WTA,” he said. “We wish Ash only the very best and know that she will continue to be a tremendous ambassador for the sport of tennis as she embarks on this new chapter of her life. We will miss her.” Barty said the decision to step away had been building in recent years. “Retirement is something I’ve been thinking about for a long time and I’ve had a lot of incredible moments in my career that have been pivotal moments,” Barty said. One of those moments was her Wimbledon victory in 2021, but she said even after that win, “there was just a little part of me that wasn’t quite satisfied, wasn’t quite fulfilled”. What helped solidify her decision to retire, she said, was her victory in her home country at this year’s Australian Open. “I think that for me just feels like the most perfect way — my perfect way — to celebrate what an amazing journey my tennis career has been,” Barty said. “As a person, this is what I want. I want to chase after some other dreams that I’ve always wanted to do.” Barty, who stepped away from the sport in 2014 to pursue a professional cricket career before returning two years later, acknowledged that many “may not understand” her decision to walk away at 25 and at the top of her sport. “That’s OK, I’m OK with that, because I know that for me, Ash Barty the person has so many dreams that she wants to chase after that don’t necessarily involve traveling the world, being away from my family, being away from my home, which is where I’ve always wanted to be,” Barty said. Though she is stepping away from tennis — just the second women’s player to hang it up while ranked No. 1 (Justine Henin also did so in 2008) — the game will not be far from Barty’s heart. “I’ll never, ever, ever stop loving tennis,” Barty said. “It will always be a massive part of my life but now I think it’s important that I get to enjoy the next phase of my life as Ash Barty the person, not Ash Barty the athlete.”