Ash Barty, a three-time Grand Slam singles champion, continues to embrace her retirement, which began just over two years ago when she stepped away from professional tennis at the age of 25. Despite her recent exhibition doubles match at Wimbledon, Barty insists she has no plans to return to competitive play.
Australia’s Ashleigh Barty, alongside partner Casey Dellacqua, faced Germany’s Andrea Petkovic and Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova in an invitational doubles match. This event took place exactly three years after Barty’s memorable victory over Karolina Pliskova, which earned her the Wimbledon singles title.
Barty humorously responded to the inevitable questions about a potential comeback, asking reporters, “Anyone have a thesaurus for a word that I can use for ‘no?’”
Although her appearance at the All England Club stirred excitement, Barty made it clear that she is content with her current life. A year ago, she welcomed a baby boy into her family and is now contributing to the BBC’s Wimbledon coverage as a commentator.
Reflecting on her new role, Barty shared, “I’ve got a beautiful commentary box on both Centre and Court 1. You get a good view and are able to absorb what’s happening out on the court. Hopefully people at home are enjoying what I’m having to say. I don’t know whether I’m right, wrong or indifferent, but I’m enjoying it as well.”
At 28 years old, Barty is not preoccupied with thoughts of what might have been had she continued her career to challenge Iga Swiatek for the No. 1 ranking. Instead, she takes pleasure in watching others excel.
“I really enjoy watching others do well,” she said. “We have seen Iga dominate for the most part of the last two and a half years. She’s been incredible the way she has composure, has gone on incredible runs, winning matches and really dominating, which is hard to do. It’s been really impressive watching from afar.”
In the exhibition match, Barty and Dellacqua emerged victorious against Petkovic and Rybarikova. Barty expressed her enduring affection for the sport, saying, “I love tennis. I love being here. I love being involved. Now, I just get to pick and choose in small doses, which is really nice.”
