Ash Barty's shock announcement after Australian Open title
World No.1 Ash Barty has revealed she won't compete at Indian Wells or the Miami Open after struggling to recover from her Australian Open campaign.
Barty hasn't competed on Tour since she defeated American Danielle Collins 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) in the final to become the first home winner of the Australian Open since Chris O'Neil in 1978.
HUGE: Massive backflip in Novak Djokovic's French Open chances
WOW: Novak Djokovic suffers massive setback in $42 million drama
'Silence': Ukrainian athlete calls out Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal
The Australian Open trophy is Barty's third grand slam accompanying her Roland Garros and Wimbledon triumphs.
The historic moment was celebrated across the nation and Barty eventually joined the Channel Nine crew to talk about her achievement.
Since the win, Barty took time off tour to rest her body.
Tennis' First Nation's ambassador, Barty recently took the Daphne Akhurst trophy to Uluru, where she played tennis with children from Mutitjuku school.
However, Barty was expected to depart Australia to compete in the prestigious WTA 1000 Indian Wells event.
But, the World No.1 has announced she will withdraw from not only Indian Wells, but the Miami Open as she continues her recovery.
"I wanted to share an update on my schedule for the coming months," Barty said in a statement on Friday.
"Unfortunately my body has not recovered the way I'd hoped after the Australian Open and I have not been able to adequately prepare for Indian Wells and Miami.
"I don't believe I am at the level necessary to win these events and as a result I have decided to withdraw from both tournaments.
"I love these events and am sad not to be there competing but getting my body right must be my focus."
Ash Barty set for rankings hit
Barty does have close to a 3000 point gap as World No.1, but her ranking will be affected after missing the two WTA events.
Barbora Krejcikova, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek all sit around 3,000 points behind, but are expected to compete in the WTA events.
One advantage Barty has is Roland Garros.
Barty withdrew from the 2021 grand slam in the early rounds due to injury.
On one of her favoured surfaces, Barty will be expected to go deep into the tournament and gain WTA ranking points.
Barty became the first Australian in 44 years to win their home grand slam last month, and her run to the title at Melbourne Park was a ratings winner for Channel Nine.
Her triumph over Danielle Collins was the most-watched women's final in history at the Australian Open, with a peak audience of 4.2 million.
Click here to sign up to our newsletter for all the latest and breaking stories from Australia and around the world.
