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Ash Barty has revealed her tennis retirement plans were set before having “one last crack” and marching to a dominant Australian Open title.
The world No.1 and three-time major champion sensationally announced her retirement at age 25 on Wednesday.
Speaking alongside coach Craig Tyzzer on Thursday, she revealed a wedding date with fiance Garry Kissick had been set but remained coy on her next professional move.
“I have seen some brilliant photoshops as a jockey, lawn bowls,” Barty said.
“I’ve seen a little bit. Yeah. I love sport. I’m a sport nut, like a lot of Australians are. I’ll be lured to it. I have always been an athlete in the sense of trying different things but we’ll see how we go.”
Winning an Australian Open wasn’t essential though, Barty explaining she had “never been a prisoner” to the profession she had already walked away from once as a prodigious teenager.
“The Australian public allowed me to be myself. They allowed me to make mistakes. They allowed me to be imperfect,” she said.
“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.”
Tyzzer admitted he wasn’t surprised by Barty’s decision, given she had cheekily asked if she could retire after her 2019 French Open victory and that her limp Olympic singles campaign last year had been telling.
“After (winning) Wimbledon that was an obvious goal for us and once she achieved it and once we got to the Olympics, it sort of hit home for me that there wasn’t much left in her,” he said.
“The motivation wasn’t there, except when she played doubles with Storm (Sanders) and mixed with John Peers, her singles really went by the wayside.
“She wasn’t fussed.
“So I felt that she had climbed where she needed to get to and it was going to be a hard slog to keep her involved.”
Meanwhile, Richmond coach Damien Hardwick praised Ash Barty for her “enormous” contribution to the AFL club and says she will always be welcome at Punt Rd.
Hardwick also would love to see Barty try playing Australian Rules.
Barty is a Tigers fanatic and was famously seen enjoying a beer at the Gabba while watching Richmond play during the 2020 finals series.
“(She has been) enormous. We probably are reflective of each other, in a way — the way she went about her tennis and her authenticity and vulnerability,” Hardwick said of her contribution to Richmond.
“It probably lent itself a little bit to what we’re about as well.
“We can always learn off others and she’s been a great ambassador for us also.
“Hopefully she’s not too foreign to the Tigers.”
While Barty is adamant there will be no tennis comeback, Hardwick hopes she might reconsider.
“Shock, I was probably like everyone else,” he said of his reaction to the Barty news.
“It probably sums Ash up, in a way. She’s at the top of her game and for one reason or another thought this is a good time to go.
“She’ll be a loss. I hope she’s not a loss for too long, I really enjoyed watching her play, obviously.”
Hardwick also revealed that the Tigers have spoken to Barty about maybe trying to switch sports.
During her tennis sabbatical between late 2014 and early 2016, Barty played in the inaugural WBBL season.
“We did have a conversation. I think she was down here after we won one of the flags because we thought it would be good to see her play,” Hardwick said.
“Whatever she takes her hand at she does very well at.
“I would assume … she’d be an absolute star at playing AFL.
“I’d love to see her in Tiger colours and I’m sure the Richmond faithful would as well.”
If Richmond don’t recover quickly from their round-loss to Carlton, Hardwick said Barty might have an even more important role at the club.
“It might be coach if we don’t start getting some wins,” he said.
“She is always welcome down here, she knows that.
“So she’s always welcome through our doors.”
© AAP
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Doesn't sound like they were overly happy!
The old hand to the ear from Kenny!
Jed McEntee getting right under the skin of the Geelong superstar!
"This is three in a year... it's embarrassing."
