Ash Barty drops huge hint on life beyond tennis
<p dir="ltr">Ash Barty insisted that she is not hiding anything from her fans after her shock retirement announcement.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The 25-year-old <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/health/caring/tennis-legends-react-to-ash-barty-s-retirement?fbclid=IwAR0yatVVM585Th8Ch0NcLsJd7eCUEaILs0w-Y2K03R3KAbxODsjJAVsknQk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> her retirement from tennis on Wednesday after winning Wimbledon and the Australian Open.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Speaking to the media, Barty revealed that she was not lying about her reasons behind retirement and there are no regrets for the decision.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“I’ve said exactly what I wanted to say,” she said.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“I’m an open book. I’m not hiding anything, I’ve got no secrets. I am just so proud of all of the work that I have done with my team.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“We have done this together right from the start, have enjoyed every single minute and we have no regrets. We have achieved so much together and it’s been fun on the way.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“I just knew for me the time was right. 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.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“It’s been a hell of a journey. I wouldn’t change a thing and I certainly have no regrets.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">Questioned about whether her retirement was due to a previous hip injury, Barty refuted the question stating she had taken a break when it didn’t heal the way she expected it to.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“No, that was an old injury that we repeatedly over my career had to manage, and that was the truth,” she explained.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“After the Australian Open it just didn’t heal quite as well as I would have liked and I didn’t get to get back on court until a few weeks ago. That’s what I mean. We were never hiding anything.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“The fact is I have given everything I can to this sport. I’m absolutely spent and had nothing more to give. I’m just really excited now for what comes next and I’m excited for the new challenges.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">Barty said retirement had been on her mind for a while and knew that when she achieved what she wanted, such as winning Wimbledon, Australian Open, and becoming the first Australian woman in 44 years to win at Melbourne Park, she knew it was time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“We’ve been in discussions for a while,” she said.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“After Wimbledon my perspective changed a lot and there was this beautiful challenge of trying to play the Australian Open and trying to win an Australian Open which was always another goal of mine, and to do that as a team and to do that with the people that meant so much to me was incredible.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“There is no perfect way, there is no perfect timing but this was our perfect way, and it was a great finish.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“That crowd (for) the final of the Australian Open was like nothing I have ever played in front of before and it was so much fun to enjoy that with them as well as my team.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“Yeah, it was a brilliant way to finish.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“I have so much love and support, and I’m so lucky to get so much love and support here in Australia, and so many people have made my career so much more fun, and being able to share that with them and experience that with them made it all the better, and I think the Australian public allowed me to be myself.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“They allowed me to make mistakes, they allowed me to be imperfect and it just made it so much more fun, and it really did make that Australian Open so much more enjoyable for all of us to be able to go, ‘You know what? This is one last crack. Let’s see what we can do’. “And it was really cool.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">Ever the cheeky one, Barty told fans that they’d have to wait and see what she plans to do in the future.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“You have to wait and see,” she said.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“I’m not giving you everything right now. It’s all right. You can be patient. Patience is a virtue.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">Barty joked that she may even switch sports thanks to photoshop images she sees online from fans.</p>
<p dir="ltr">"I have seen some brilliant photoshops as a jockey, lawn bowler. Like many sports, I am lured to it,” she said.</p>
<p dir="ltr">"I have always been an athlete in the sense of trying different things. We will see how we go."</p>
<p dir="ltr">Excited about the next chapter of her life, Barty said she wants to spend time with her family and within the community.</p>
<p dir="ltr">"I am excited about my next chapter as Ash Barty the person and not the athlete," she explained.</p>
<p dir="ltr">"I hit as recently as 10 days ago. I will forever be connected to tennis, I will never stop loving the sport, I will never stop hitting tennis balls.</p>
<p dir="ltr">"I have always been a homebody, and this is where I recharge.</p>
<p dir="ltr">"This is where I get my energy from. I'm excited to reacquaint myself with my mum and dad and sisters and nieces and nephews. And spend quality time with them as a person.</p>
<p dir="ltr">"Like I said, a new chapter for Garry (her partner) and I, and it is going to be a lot of fun."</p>
<p dir="ltr">“I have always wanted to have the time to contribute more in other ways, and I think now I have got that opportunity, and I’ve been fortunate enough to have so many opportunities given to me from tennis, and now I’m ready to really give back in ways that I’m passionate about and visiting Uluru and being up in the community was just incredible,” Barty said.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“That’s what lights me up inside. That’s what makes me happy, and we have done a few of those trips now and I can’t wait to do a few more.”</p>
<p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Instagram</em></p>
