Edel Coffey: It takes courage to walk away from what you thought you wanted

Many people are shaking their heads at Ash Barty leaving tennis when she’s at the top of her game, but she’s absolutely right to put her own happiness first

Tennis world number one Ashleigh Barty: As a role model, she is endearingly human. Someone who puts personal happiness above the glory and financial riches of professional victories

How and when do you know if it’s the right time to walk away from something? That’s a question prompted by the world number one women’s tennis player Ash Barty’s decision to retire from her sport at the age of 25.

Barty has won Wimbledon, the French Open and the Australian Open. To put that in context, the only other active female player who has done this is Serena Williams. So Barty is leaving at ...