Ash Barty opens up about her only regret after retirement

Tennis sensation Ash Barty may have walked away from tennis on her own terms, but there’s one thing she wishes she could have done before calling time on her remarkable career.

Barty sent shockwaves through the world of tennis after announcing her retirement from the sport at just 25 years old.

Alongside her former doubles partner, Casey Dellacqua, Barty took to Instagram to announce the move on Wednesday, March 23, 2022 telling fans that “today is difficult and filled with emotion for me as I announce my retirement from tennis.”

“I wasn’t sure how to share this news with you so I asked my good friend @caseydellacqua to help me. I am so thankful for everything this sport has given me and leave feeling proud and fulfilled. Thank you to everyone who has supported me along the way, I’ll always be grateful for the lifelong memories that we created together,” she said at the time.

Now in an interview with Code Sports, Barty has spoken of her only regret when it came to retiring after watching fellow tennis sensations Rafael Nadal leave the world of competitive tennis behind.

“I love Rafa,” she said.

“I liked the way Rafa retired. He wanted to represent Spain in a team environment. That was my dream. I wanted to retire representing Australia at a Fed Cup tie in Brisbane which did not eventuate. I know that feeling of celebrating your career with the people you love.

“It’s been such a beautiful celebration for him and his career. So many tributes from players and also other athletes around the world. It showed how much of a positive impact it had on sport and life in general.”

Although Barty may have wanted to take to the tennis court one more time before hanging up her racquet, the 28-year-old recently shared that she is loving life since retirement, revealing that her post-tennis life is “going to be a really fun journey”.

“Life’s been great,” Barty said in a previous interview with Sunrise.

“It’s everything I’ve ever wanted. I feel very fortunate I’ve been able to live out my childhood dream and have a career for 20 years.

“It was something I loved and now what excites me is our next chapter and what that is I’m not quite sure yet but the last six months, if it’s anything to go by, it’s going to be a really fun journey.

“Much to a lot of people’s disgust, the professional athlete is done, the tank is empty but it has been a lot of fun ticking off a few other things that I was loved to do. I’m a weekend hacker on the golf course, I love to get out with my mum and my girlfriends and that’s about as far as we go.”