Christophe Ena/Associated Press
PARIS — A cricketer no more, Ashleigh Barty confirmed the wisdom of her decision to return to professional tennis by winning her first Grand Slam singles title at the French Open on Saturday.
She capped her comeback with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Marketa Vondrousova, an unseeded 19-year-old from the Czech Republic.
On paper, it was a surprise that Barty, a 23-year-old Australian, ended up the champion in Paris. She was seeded No. 8 and has played comparatively little on clay, arriving at Roland Garros with only a 15-13 career record on the surface.