Wimbledon 2022 – Where in the world is Ash Barty?

LONDON — Much of Wimbledon is synonymous with tradition. There are the usual sounds of champagne corks popping, dress codes, sunburned patrons, strawberries and cream and excessive amounts of Pimm’s No. 1 being consumed.

Then there are other traditions: The defending men’s champion opens play on Centre Court on Monday, while the reigning women’s titleholder does the same on Tuesday.

Last year’s women’s champion, Ashleigh Barty, won’t be playing on Tuesday.

Instead of soaking up the adulation of Centre Court at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, she’ll be playing golf in New Jersey alongside Michael Phelps, Brian Lara and Harry Kane. It was in March when Ash Barty, then 25, made the sport-shifting decision to retire from tennis as she entered her 114th straight week as world No. 1.

So instead of Barty, it’ll likely be Simona Halep opening the play on Tuesday on Centre Court. Though she still loves the sport, Barty is unlikely to attend the tournament this year — according to sources — as she continues to explore and enjoy her life post-tennis.

THERE WERE JUST 50 days between Barty winning the Australian Open and her retirement announcement but the decision had been brewing for a while. She had first talked seriously with close confidants about retiring after she won the 2019 French Open, but still there was this life-long dream of triumphing at Wimbledon that kept her going.

After realizing that goal in July 2021, those closest to her knew her interest in the sport had waned. Coach Craig Tyzzer said he knew he was fighting a losing battle in keeping the star motivated while they were in Tokyo for the Olympics. There she won the doubles, but crashed out in the first round of the singles to then world No. 48 Sara Sorribes Tormo, with Tyzzer saying at her departure press conference it was a “hard slog to keep [Barty] involved … there wasn’t much left in her, [the] motivation wasn’t there.”

But she raised herself for one last shot at winning the Australian…