Ashleigh Barty walked away from tennis to find her way forward. Will other pros follow?

Instead, she spent 11 months enjoying golf, playing with her nieces and nephew and training with her coach, to the extent Australian’s strict coronavirus protocols allowed. She didn’t miss a beat upon returning for the 2021 season, winning the first tournament she entered, a grass-court tune-up for the Australian Open, followed by a hard-court title at the Miami Open and a clay-court title in Stuttgart.