Former world No. 1 tennis player Ash Barty is set to return to cricket for one more game nearly a decade after she last played the sport competitively.
Barty will take part in the T20 Cairns Gold Clash at Cazalys Stadium on November 22, 2026. The former Australian tennis star will represent Team Cricket against Team Footy in the celebrity match, which is being introduced in Australia after previously gaining popularity in New Zealand.
The game will bring together a number of well-known names from Australian and international sport. Brian Lara, Usman Khawaja, Matt Hayden, Mike Hussey, Johnathan Thurston, Sam Burgess, Dale Thomas and Joel Selwood are among the other sporting figures expected to feature in the event.
The match will mark a return to a sport that played an important role during a difficult period in her tennis career.
The Australian stepped away from tennis in 2014 and turned to cricket. She joined the Brisbane Heat for the inaugural Women’s Big Bash League season and played in the competition during the 2015-16 campaign.
Her time with the Heat gave her a break from tennis and helped her rediscover her enjoyment of sport. She eventually returned to tennis in 2016 and went on to build one of the most successful careers in the sport.
Barty won the French Open in 2019, Wimbledon in 2021 and the Australian Open in 2022. She retired from professional tennis in March 2022, just two months after winning her home Grand Slam and while still ranked No. 1 in the world.
Her return to cricket will therefore be more of a one-off appearance than a serious comeback. Barty has remained connected to the sport and has spoken positively about her time with the Brisbane Heat and the friendships she made during that period.
The former tennis champion is also looking forward to sharing the field with some of the players she grew up watching. Matthew Hayden, in particular, was one of her childhood sporting idols.
Almost 11 years after her WBBL stint, she will now pick up the bat again for one more innings. Fans surely remember her short cricket career and the Cairns event will offer a chance to see Barty back on a cricket field.