A day after Ash Barty wowed the world by deciding to retire from tennis at the age of 25, he has hinted at what’s to come next.
Barty left tennis ranked world number one and on his back after winning the Australian Open in January.
Having previously played professional cricket and also a handy golfer, some have speculated Barty could be eyeing a potential sport switch.
The 25-year-old has enjoyed some of that speculation and hasn’t ruled out returning in some form as an athlete.
“I’ve seen some brilliant photoshops (of me) as a jockey, lawn bowls. I saw a bit,” Barty said in her press conference on Thursday.
“I love sport. I’m a sports fanatic like many Australians. I am lured into it.
“I’ve always been an athlete in the sense that I’ve tried different things, but we’ll see how we progress.”
For now, though, Barty’s focus is on family while she gets back to her normal life in her hometown.
“I’ve always been a home and this is where I retreated to where I got my energy from,” she said.
“But I’m really looking forward to reconnecting with my mum and dad and my sisters and nieces and nephews and spending quality time as a person with them.
“Like I said, a new chapter for Garry and me. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Unlike everyone else, Barty’s coach Craig Tyzzer wasn’t surprised by her decision to retire, recalling her asking about a potential retirement from tennis in 2019.
“I kind of felt like she had climbed where she needed to go and it was going to be a tough job to keep her going… so I kind of had a feeling it was coming, and we had certain.” Discussed things,” Tyzzer said.
“I mean, Ash probably still remembers, but everyone after her first Grand Slam, French, I had really really set that up – when we walked onto the court together, when I first saw her, that speech about how profound that was would be and what it meant to her.
“The first thing she said to me was, ‘Can I retire now?’ I kind of said, ‘Wait, I’m not ready for this.’
“You just have to be the best version of yourself, and that’s really what we were about.
“It was never about success, it was all about getting the best out of Ash and turns out she’s the best there is.
“So I think all people need to just sit back and look at this, but yeah the journey is tough. It is not easy. I mean it’s extremely tough.
“What Ash has accomplished is incredible, the amount of work she puts in so it’s not an easy journey but yes it’s definitely fulfilling.”
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