“I will always love tennis”
Barty just renounces the selfishness of the tour
03/24/2022, 12:39 p.m
After her surprising career end, tennis world number one Ashleigh Barty declares the end of the age of selfishness. At least for the 25-year-old, who will always love the sport and train youngsters. This opens up a chance for other players at the top.
Tennis world number one Ashleigh Barty wants to remain closely associated with the sport even after her surprising resignation. “I will never stop loving the sport and I will never stop hitting tennis balls,” the 25-year-old Australian said in Brisbane on Thursday. “I just won’t do it selfishly anymore to try and advance my career.” The Australian Open winner unexpectedly announced the end of her career to the public on Wednesday.
When asked if a comeback was completely out of the question, Barty said: “You should never say never. I would say the door is closed, but it’s not locked.” She is a person who never categorically says no, but it feels to her as if the chapter in her tennis career is over. She is now looking forward to coaching youngsters and “making a contribution,” Barty said. “I can’t wait to teach my nieces and nephews and I hope they will love tennis as much as I do.”
In the future, she wants to spend more time with her family. “I’ve always been a domestic person, that’s how I charge my batteries, that’s where I get my energy from.” Barty has been engaged to professional golfer Garry Kissick since last year. “This is a new chapter for Garry and I now and it’s going to be a lot of fun,” she said.
“I regret nothing”
She left it open whether she wanted to try other sports in the future. At the age of 18 she had already put her career on hold for almost two years due to the pressure and too much travel and played cricket professionally during the break. “I’ve always been an athlete in the sense that I’ve tried different things,” Barty said. “We’ll see what happens.”
The right-hander, who was born in Ipswich near Brisbane, has been at the top of the world rankings for 114 weeks. Only three players have had a longer streak than her: Steffi Graf (186), Serena Williams (186) and Martina Navratilova (156). At the end of January, Barty ensured a home triumph in Melbourne for the first time since 1978. In total, she has won three Grand Slams in her career. Before the Australian Open, she had already won Wimbledon and the French Open. “I wouldn’t change anything and I have no regrets,” Barty concluded.
Barty’s withdrawal now gives the Pole Iga Swiatek the short-term chance to jump to the top of the ranking for the first time. “My name will be removed from the next ranking,” said Barty: “It will be an exciting time for the WTA tour with a new number one.” The next world ranking list will be published next Monday after the end of the WTA tournament in Miami. Behind Swiatek (5776 points), French Open winner of 2020, lurk the Greek Maria Sakkari (5085) and the Czech Barbora Krejcikova (5033).