"You guys just can’t accept that I don’t want to play professional sport anymore" - says Ashleigh Barty
WTAMonday, 18 July 2022 at 19:30
Updated at Wednesday, 13 August 2025 at 16:54
Ashleigh Barty is not playing professional tennis anymore, and she does not intend to either, as the Australian has made up her mind.
While many celebrated Ashleigh Barty when she retired from tennis, there were a lot of people baffled by the decision about why she would retire at the top of her game.
It's not unheard of in tennis, as Bjorn Borg did a similar thing, but many of Barty's fans assumed that it was just a prolonged break and that the Australian would return to the tennis courts at some point.
However, that's not true, as she is confident that she does not want to play any sports anymore professionally. That includes another passion of hers, and that's golf.
Barty was in Fife, Scotland, for the 150th edition of The Open to enjoy some live golf action. She also spoke to the media, explaining her decision, again.
"You guys just can’t accept that I don’t want to play professional sport anymore. I love golf, it’s a hobby of mine. It will not be my profession, I have no intention of making it my profession but I hack around once a week if I can — and I play off four."
"There’s no need, there’s no desire for me to play professional sport, particularly golf. I love it as a walkaround with my girlfriends and friends but yeah, not for me."
Barty also admitted that she hasn't watched almost any tennis matches since retiring, including this year's Wimbledon final.
"I didn’t watch this year’s Wimbledon finals. Sorry to disappoint. Obviously, I was rapt for Ons (Jabeur) and Elena (Rybakina), who are both brilliant girls. And it was obviously awesome to see Nick, who I’ve known for over a dozen years, get to the final."
"But since retiring I’ve probably watched as many matches as I did when I was playing, which was slim to none. Occasionally we’ll have it on as background noise but it’s very seldom that I’ll sit down and watch a match from start to end with any interest."
The former WTA World No. 1 also admitted that she didn't have any regrets about her retirement, being completely at peace with her decision, which many would want to revert.
"I’ve no regrets about retiring. Not one. I knew it was the right time for me. It was what I wanted to do. And I know that a lot of people may still not understand it. But I hope they respect that in the sense that it was my decision."
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