When Ash Barty announced her retirement in March of 2022, it took the professional tennis world by surprise. At the time the 25-year-old was the top-ranked female professional player and had recently won her first Australian Open title. It also caught Tennis Australia by surprise as they were in the midst of renegotiating broadcast rights for the 2023 Australian “Summer of Tennis” with Barty as the featured attraction.
In My Dream Time: A Memoir of Tennis & Teamwork, Ash Barty shares details about her tennis life and delves deeply into who she is as a person. She shares how she came to understand what it is that she wants and values. In the process, her reasons for walking away from the sport are both clear and understandable.
Unlike other prominent tennis bestselling memoirs (Andre Agassi’s Open springs immediately to mind) Barty loves the game of tennis. What she didn’t love is being away from her family and the social demands of the professional tour. Depression was an issue for her at various points in her career. Barty’s own ride on the emotional rollercoaster that is professional tennis is both inspiring and heart-wrenching.
In fact, Barty quit tennis not once, but twice. In addition, she shares many other times that she decided to quit the sport that were short-lived and less well-known. In a way, Barty has been preparing to walk away from the sport she loves her entire life.
Her first professional tennis career started in 2010 when Barty was only 14. She stepped away indefinitely from the sport in 2014 when she was still a teenager. As a child, she didn’t have the leverage to say no to things that were not in her own best interest.
Tennis Australia was banking on the emergence of the young star. Consequently, Barty’s national federation put immense pressure on her to play specific events. That included Australian Federation Cup team competitions and specific tournaments. In fact, My Dream Time: A Memoir of Tennis & Teamwork builds a pretty convincing case that Tennis Australia was prioritizing the interests of the federation over what was arguably best for Barty.
When Barty returned to tennis two years later, it was with the confidence and ability to do it on her own terms. Tennis Australia allowed her to hand-pick her own team and gave her autonomy over when and where to play. To Barty’s credit, she selected a team that pushed her on and off the court. Her memoir is very much a testimonial to the value of teamwork.
My Dream Time: A Memoir of Tennis & Teamwork is one last opportunity to get to know Ash Barty. It explains why she walked away from the game and why she is unlikely to return. Along the way Barty shares great insight into tennis as well as how to train for peak performance.
Ultimately My Dream Time: A Memoir of Tennis & Teamwork brings full closure to Ash Barty’s tennis career. She has achieved her dreams at a very young age and has nothing left to prove. We should all be so fortunate.
 | My Dream Time: A Memoir of Tennis & Teamwork |
