"You never say never, but it is a long way off at this stage" - Ashleigh Barty on possibility of making another comeback to tennis or other sports
During her first press conference since announcing her shock retirement from tennis, Ashleigh Barty said she could not rule out the possibility of making another comeback in the future
The 25-year-old shocked the tennis world by announcing her retirement on Wednesday, just a couple of months after winning the Australian Open.
Ash Barty is leaving tennis on top 🏆
More on her retirement announcement: es.pn/3tylCIQ https://t.co/AruVff0eUE
In her press conference on Thursday, Barty spoke about a number of topics, including what she planned on doing after retirement. While the Australian made it clear that she had no immediate plans to play another sport, she did not rule out the possibility of doing so in the future, calling herself a "sport nut".
“I’ve seen some brilliant Photoshops as a jockey, lawn bowls, I’ve seen a little bit. I love sport. I’m a sport nut. Like a lot of Australians are, I will be glued to it. I’ve always been an athlete in a sense of trying different things. But we will see how we go,” Barty said.
When asked about the possibility of making a comeback to tennis, Barty said that it was " a long way off" right now but did not completely rule it out.
#Barty about a future comeback
"You never say never, but is a long way off at this stage" https://t.co/XRzUtI13zr
"You never say never, but is a long way off at this stage."
The 25-year-old also said that her contribution towards the Indigenous community will only grow and that she is looking forward to helping more Aboriginal and Indigenous people enter tennis. Barty is a First Nation tennis ambassador and a few weeks ago went to Uluru, Australia, exploring the natural surroundings of the national park along with teaching and playing tennis with children.
“I know my contribution with the Aboriginal and Indigenous side of our sport will only grow,” Barty added. “I’m really excited for that, I’m really excited to have the opportunity to give Indigenous youth, Aboriginal youth around our nation more opportunity to get into the sport. That’s something that we’ll work on down the track but I am excited to spend more time in that space.”
Live: Ash Barty fronts the media to explain her retirement decision abc.net.au/news/2022-03-2…
"I have given everything I can to this sport, I’m absolutely spent and had nothing more to give" - Ashleigh Barty
Ashleigh Barty's last hour on the tennis court came at the Australian Open, a tournament she won without dropping a single set. The 25-year-old had the love and support of the crowd throughout the fortnight in Melbourne, which was likely due to the drought of Australian champions at the Australian Open. She became the first Australian in 44 years to win the singles event
Barty said that the crowd at the Australian Open allowed her to "make mistakes" and express herself.
“I’ve never, never been a prisoner. I think the Australian public allowed me to be myself," Barty said. "They allowed me to make mistakes. They allowed me to be imperfect. And it just made it so much for fun. 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. It was really cool.”
Barty previously retired from tennis after the 2014 US Open and switched to cricket for about a year. She represented the Brisbane Heat in the Women's Big Bash League.