Australian tennis star and world number one, Ash Barty, made a shock announcement on Wednesday that she is retiring from professional tennis. In a video posted on Instagram, the three-time grand slam winner told her friend Casey Dellacqua, also a retired professional player, that this is the first time she has said it out loud. “It’s hard to say, but I’m so happy and I’m so ready,” she said. “And I just know at the moment in my heart for me as a person this is right.” Barty referred to the time she took an indefinite break from professional tennis in 2014, after which she returned in early 2016, but said that the feeling is very different this time. “I am so grateful for everything that tennis has given me. It’s given me all of my dreams plus more,” she said. “But I know that the time is right now …