Reigning Australian Open champion Ash Barty has shut down any talk of a comeback to tennis just months out from the tournament’s return.
The former world No.1’s retirement from the top of the sport shocked the world but the 26-year-old has totally ruled out getting back on the court.
Launching her autobiography ‘My Dream Time’ at Melbourne Park, where she’ll be this coming January – just not playing tennis – Barty said: “Nope, I’m done.”
“You can never say never but no. No, no, no. I’m done.”
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She also ruled out ever heading into the commentary booth as fellow Aussie greats like Lleyton Hewitt and Jelena Dokic have.
“No, never,” she simply said.
Barty won three slams – the Australian and French Opens plus Wimbledon – and spent 121 weeks as the world No.1 in her remarkable rise following a hiatus to play cricket.
Yet Barty claims she hasn’t watched a game of tennis since retiring and doesn’t even know who the current top five players are.
“I miss competing and challenging myself against the best of the world but I don’t miss a lot that comes with it,” she said.
“I’m still competitive with myself when I train at home. I still try and push myself but there’s no white-line fever any more.
“And I never really felt like there was this void that needed to be filled in because there was a genuine sense of fulfilment at the end of my career.”