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Ash Barty has shut down a persistent reporter trying to get the bottom of the reason behind the tennis champion’s shock retirement.
The women’s world No.1 announced on Wednesday she’d be pulling the plug on her incredible career, six months after claiming the Wimbledon title last year.
The 25-year-old said she had nothing left in the tank and had no regrets about her time on the court but knew it was time to ‘put the rackets down’.
When asked what she was planning next, Barty made it clear she would not be giving anything away.
Ash Barty announced her shock retirement on Wednesday. She is currently the world no.1
The tennis great said she had ‘no secrets’ as to the reason behind her shock retirement. On Wednesday she said she’d given ‘absolutely everything’ she had to the sport and was ready to step away
Barty’s niece Lucy (pictured together) said her aunt’s retirement was ‘nice’ because it would give other athletes a chance to be No.1
‘You have to wait and see. I’m not giving you everything right now. It’s alright. You can be patient. Patience is a virtue,’ she said in a press conference on Thursday.
When asked the same question just moments later, Barty again told the reporter ‘you’ll have to wait and see’.
‘Be patient. It’s alright.’
When pressed for more answers, Barty held her ground and said she had ‘no secrets’.
‘I’ve said exactly what I wanted to say. I’m an open book. I’m not hiding anything, I’ve got no secrets,’ she said.
‘I am just so proud of all of the work that I have done with my team. We have done this together right from the start, have enjoyed every single minute and, like I said, we have no regrets.’
The women’s world No 1 was visibly emotional as she made the shock announcement
Having won Wimbledon, Barty felt that her stellar performance at the Australian Open where she took the title was the perfect way to wrap up her career.
‘I’d given absolutely everything that I could to this sport, and I knew that it wouldn’t be fair to my team and the people that have invested so much time and energy into my life to not be 100 per cent committed to them,’ she said.
Barty grabbed the world No.1 spot on June 24, 2019, and never relinquished it with strong finishes in Grand Slams for the next two-and-a-half years.
She thanked the support from her family and loved ones, adding her niece Lucy was happy aspiring tennis stars may now have a shot at being number one.
‘My eldest niece, just said to me, she goes, ‘Oh, that’s nice. It will be nice to see someone else at number one”,’ Barty laughed.
The 25-year-old said she’s looking forward to what the next chapter will hold for her and fiance Garry Kissick, but gave no clues away as to when or where the wedding may be.
Barty was asked if she may pursue another sport, having already showed off her cricket prowess when she starred for the Brisbane Heat in the WBBL.
‘Yeah. I love sport. I’m a sport nut, like a lot of Australians are. I’ll be lured to it,’ she said.
The 25-year-old said she’s looking forward to what the next chapter will hold for her and fiance Garry Kissick
‘I have always been an athlete in the sense of trying different things but we’ll see how we go.’
Having been a powerhouse in the tennis world, it’s the simple pleasures of life Barty is most looking forward to in her retirement.
‘I have always been a homebody,’ she said.
‘I’m really excited to reacquaint myself with my mum and dad and sisters and nieces and nephews and spend quality time with them as a person.
‘Like I said, a new chapter for Garry and I and – yeah, it’s gonna be a lot of fun.’
Her coach Craig Tyzzer said after her stunning Wimbledon win, her drive for the sport started to dwindle.
Barty is seen with her coach Craig Tyzzer after speaking about her sudden retirement on Thursday
‘I mean, that (Wimbledon) was an obvious goal for us and once she achieved it, I think once we got to the Olympics, it sort of hit home for me, that there wasn’t much left in her,’ he said.
‘I sort of felt she’d climbed where she needed to get to, and it was going to be a hard slog to keep her involved. So I sort of felt it (her retirement) was coming.
‘Knowing Ash, she is a tennis player, that is not who she is.
‘There are lots of other elements to her and her life. I just know that she has made the right decision for her and that is probably the best thing she could have done.’
He added that after her first Grand Slam win, Barty turned to him and said ‘Can I retire now?’
‘I sort of went, “Hang on, I’m not ready for that”,’ Tyzzer added.
Barty is also hoping she can use her spare time to give back to the Indigenous community, as she is a proud Ngaragu woman.
The world only found out the tennis star was retiring on Wednesday, as she shared an emotional video with former doubles partner and good friend Casey Dellacqua.
Barty from Ipswich in Queensland, fought back tears as she made the bombshell announcement, saying she was physically and emotionally ‘spent’.
‘It’s the first time I’ve said it out loud, so it’s hard to say but I’m so happy and I’m so ready,’ she explained in the video.
‘I know I’ve done this before but in a very different feeling and I’m so grateful of what tennis has given me, all of my dreams plus more but I know the time is right now for me to step away and to put the rackets down.’
Ash Barty (pictured with fiance Garry Kissick) now plans to chase other dreams
Barty earned US$23.8 million (AU$37.75 million) in prize money and millions more in sponsorships, making her the 14th best-paid female player in history.
She made US$3 million from endorsements last year and was the eighth-highest paid female athlete in 2021, pocketing US$6.9 million, according to Forbes.
Her total career earnings are estimated to be around the US$53 million-mark (AU$70 million).
Barty also revealed she’s ‘physically spent’ after three consecutive years as the women’s world No.1 following her comeback to the sport in late 2016 after an 18-month break prompted by her struggles with mental health.
‘There was a perspective shift in me in the second phase of my career that my happiness wasn’t dependent on the results,’ Barty said.
‘Success for me is knowing that I’ve given absolutely everything, everything I can.
‘I’m fulfilled, I’m happy, and I know how much work it takes to bring the best out of yourself.
‘I just don’t have that in me anymore. I don’t have the physical drive, the emotional want and everything it takes to challenge yourself at the very top level anymore.
‘I am spent. I just know physically I have nothing more to give and that, for me, is success.
‘Now I think it’s important that I get to enjoy the next phase of my life as Ash Barty the person and not Ash Barty the athlete.’
A young Ash Barty clings onto a junior tennis trophy she won at a tournament back in 2002 not knowing she would go on to become the world No.1
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