Follow usAustralian Open champion Ashleigh Barty won Australia’s most prestigious annual sports award — despite retiring from the game less than two months later.
The 26-year-old Barty has been given The Don Award, named after its most accomplished and famous cricketer Don Bradman.
In March, Barty shocked the tennis world after announcing her retirement. The three-time major winner was the No. 1-ranked female player at the time of her retirement decision.
The Sport Australia Hall of Fame’s Don Award is given to an athlete or a team “which has provided the most inspiration to the country through performance and example in the past year.”
Barty, who also won the award in 2019, joins Olympic gold medal-winning hurdler Sally Pearson (2012, 2014) and Olympic champion pole vaulter Steve Hooker (2008, 2009) as a multiple winner of the award.
