Ash Barty shocked the world Tuesday by announcing her retirement from tennis at the age of 25. In an Instagram video, she explained that she didn’t have anything else she wanted to accomplish in the Tennis world.
Barty spoke to the media in Australia about her retirement, confirming that she wants to put her focus into other areas.
“I’m excited for what’s next, for my next chapter as Ash Barty the person and not the athlete,” Barty said.
Barty didn’t specify where she will focus her efforts moving forward. However, she made sure to mention that tennis will forever be a part of her life, and she still wants to make contributions to the game in some way.
“I will forever be connected to tennis. I will never stop loving this sport, I will never stop hitting tennis balls, I just won’t be doing it selfishly for me to try and progress my career,” she said. “I can’t wait to get out there with young girls and young boys and contribute in different ways. I’m really excited to have more time to do that.”
Additionally, Barty thanked the people of Australia for backing her throughout her career. She said that once she finally one the Australian Open, her third career major tournament victory, there was nothing greater she wanted to accomplish as a tennis pro.
“The Australian public allowed me to be myself, they allowed me to make mistakes, they allowed me to be imperfect,” she said. “It 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.’”
If there was anything left to accomplish, maybe Barty wouldn’t have retired, but she is adamant that she has no gas left to compete.
“I have given everything I can to this sport,” she said. “I’m absolutely spent and just have nothing more to give.”
