A professional tennis player signs up to play inaugural Women’s Big Bash League

A professional tennis player signs up to play inaugural Women’s Big Bash League; Ashleigh Barty, one of the most talented female tennis player in Australia, has quit tennis and taken up cricket. She has joined the inaugural Women’s Big Bash League. She has joined Brisbane Heats just months after approaching Queensland Cricket to express her interest in swapping sports.

Barty won the 2011 Wimbledon Girls Championship and was ranked 129 in world rankings. She said that her interest in tennis has not faded away and insists that she may make a WTA comeback in near future.

“I was still enjoying life. I had nothing to complain about, but I wanted to make sure I was all in or there’s no point doing it. It is tough when you’re by yourself and I think that’s why team sport is so appealing. 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,” said the 19-year-old Barty.

Ashleigh pointed out that she decided to switch sports because the WTA tours are very stressful and sometimes she felt very lonely and isolated.

She has been playing cricket only since July and has been training at Queensland’ national league. Ashleigh played her first T20 match last week where she scored 63 runs off 60 deliveries and took 2 wickets.

“There’s never a lonesome moment on the field if you’re struggling. There are 10 other girls that can help you out and get you through the tough times,” Barty said.

Queensland Coach Andy Richards rates her as a very bright future prospect and said that she is a future national player. “Her skill from the first time she picked up a bat was outstanding from a coach’s perspective, she never missed a ball in her first session.

“She’s probably hit more balls than most of our cricket players coming through. It might not have been a cricket ball, but it’s a ball at 120kms plus an hour. That’s what attracted me as a coach to her as a player, her ability to pick up things really quickly,” Richards said.

ASH Barty The Teenage Tennis Prodigy Turned Cricketer  

2011: Wins Wimbledon junior crown at 15.

2013: Makes her Fed Cup debut for Australia at 16, the youngest to do so since Jelena Dokic in 1998.

2013: Wins grand slam first-round matches at the French Open and US Open to climb to career-high ranking of No.129 in the world.

2013: Reaches grand slam doubles finals with Casey Dellacqua at Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open.

2014: Announces in September that she is taking an “indefinite break” from tennis.

2015: Signs with the Brisbane Heat to play in the inaugural Women’s Big Bash League.