Ash Barty is ready to return but not in the way you want

To be honest, I want to live in Ash Barty's world. To be able to have the freedom to play lots of different sports and be good at each of them is the dream, right? But selfishly speaking, I would love for Ash Barty to come back to tennis and stay there and get back to being one of the best players in the world again. But while I want that, most importantly Ash Barty does not.

In fact, Barty is currently looking forward to playing at the New Zealand Open, a golf pro-am that will take place from February 29 through March 3. Barty was a spectator at the 2023 event but hopes to get to play this year. She is also one of the ambassadors of the event.

Ash Barty, it appears, has been a fan of golf as long as she has been a fan of tennis. The difference in her attention between the two sports was that she was really good at tennis and that created a pretty good income for her. But when tennis became more about making money and seemingly less about the love of playing, she quit.

Ash Barty eschews tennis and will try a golf tournament instead

That, of course, takes a lot of bravery. Many of us work jobs - maybe we are even good at those jobs - but do we truly love them? And if we do not, do we have the nerve to quit them and try something we do love? To be fair, many of us probably don't have that financial opportunity.

At the New Zealand pro-am, Barty will join 155 other amateurs trying to make the cut to play in the tournament. In a recent conversation with the West Australian, Barty said, "Golf has always been a passion of mine, I feel fortunate to be able to play in events like the New Zealand Open...I imagine that first tee shot in front of everyone will be quite nerve-racking, but once the first ball hits the fairway, hopefully things should settle down."

Tennis fans likely wish Ash Barty well in her new venture playing the golf tournament. But we have to admit to ourselves that it feels a bit like Barty is cheating on us by playing a sport other than the tennis we love. Of course, she has that right as a human being, though.

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