Ashleigh Barty, currently ranked the No. 1 tennis player in the world, won’t take part in this year’s edition of the French Open. Barty, who won the tournament last year and was set to defend the title, made the announcement on Monday.
According to Barty, she made the decision due to coronavirus pandemic concerns and the fact that she wouldn’t have the proper preparation ahead of the tournament. The 24-year-old Australian, who dropped out of the 2020 US Open for similar reasons, also confirmed that she wouldn’t play tennis in Europe at all in 2020.
“It has been a difficult decision to make, but unfortunately, I will not be competing in Europe this year,” Barty wrote on Instagram. “Last year’s French Open was the most special tournament of my career, so this is not a decision I have made lightly.”
Barty won the 2019 French Open in a remarkable fashion, dropping just two sets en route to finals as the eighth seed. In the final match, she lost just four games and defeated Marketu Vondrousovu to claim her first Grand Slam title.
The win at Roland Garros stands as Ashleigh Barty’s biggest career success, while she also reached semi-finals at the Australian Open this year. At Wimbledon and US Open, Barty never advanced past the fourth round.
