Ashleigh Barty's name popped up on Charleston's player field for their upcoming tournament and fans went into a frenzy before the American clay event confirmed that they made an error.
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Traditionally, Charleston opens the clay season and this year's tournament edition starts on Monday. A couple of days before the start of the tournament, tennis journalist Christopher Clarey was checking some stuff on the tournament's website when he noticed the former three-time Grand Slam champion being listed as a wildcard recipient.
After it was posted on X, it quickly started drawing attention, with many wondering whether it was just an error or if Barty decided to silently end her retirement and stunningly return to tennis. However, the clarification quickly came in.
"Looks like our new website got a little too excited and accidentally listed Ashleigh Barty as a wildcard recipient. We promise the only surprises moving forward will be on the court!" the Charleston tournament organizers said in a statement on X.
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Barty retired exactly three years ago
In 2022 March - just two months after winning her third Grand Slam title at Melbourne Park - the Australian announced she was walking away from pro tennis at the age of 25 while still being the top-ranked player in the game. Needless to say, those news left the tennis community absolutely stunned and the shock remained for quite some time.
Since then, Barty has been asked a million times about the prospect of coming back. And every time, the answer remained the same.
You guys are killing me. I dont know how much more. Anyone have a thesaurus for a word that I can use for no? No, mate (I'm not thinking about returning). No, Im not," Barty said last summer after returning to Wimbledon for an exhibition match.
