My Dream Time: Ash Barty shuts down commentary move during book tour

Ash Barty refuses to use the word ‘never’ when talking about a potential playing comeback. But there is one tennis gig post her playing career she is absolutely certain is never happening.

Not even a return to the scene of her final triumph was enough to stir Ash Barty from her retirement slumber.

“Nope, I’m done,” Barty declared on her return to Melbourne Park on Monday as part of a nationwide book tour to promote her ‘My Dream Time’ memoir.

“You can never say never but no. No, no, no. I’m done.”

Barty confirmed she would return to Melbourne Park in January for the Australian Open but ruled out following in the footsteps of many former champions and turning her hand to commentary: “No. Never.”

The reigning Australian Open champion understands people will continue to question whether her exit from tennis is permanent given she left in March at the age of 25 and as the world’s best player.

Barty hasn’t watched a game of tennis since she quit and couldn’t tell you who now makes up the top five players in the world because it’s no longer in her “eyeline”.

While she has picked up a racquet and enjoys an occasional hit back at home in Ipswich, her training regimen is more about “feeling good” than returning to competition.

Ash Barty ruled out a move to the commentary box. Picture: Richard Dobson

“I’m not training to be an athlete anymore,” Barty said. ”I’m not training as a job, I’m training for leisure and training to have fun.

“I miss competing and challenging myself against the best of the world but I don‘t miss a lot that comes with it.

“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.

“I don‘t think I was still searching for the competitive beast anymore.”

Ash Barty talks to Robert Craddock. Picture: Steve Pohlner

The former No.1 has a few irons in the fire for what her next chapter looks like and is currently working on setting up a foundation and also a coaching Academy with her former mentors Craig Tyzzer and Jason Stoltenberg.

“I still probably don‘t know exactly (what is next), there are certainly things that I want to do and ways I want to contribute and whether that is through my foundation, got plenty of work to do with that, so there is excitement around that,” Barty said.

“It gives us time to plan these things, plan what is my reason for me to get out of bed, to keep working on my purpose and keep developing that and keep contributing in different ways.

“That is what is exciting, there is a little bit of ‘what is it?’ and that is an exciting question.”

Barty did retire briefly earlier in her career and tried her hand at cricket before coming back to fulfil her childhood goal of winning Wimbledon.

“During that period of my life (while) playing cricket, I was searching. I was searching for stimulation, I was searching for other things,” she said.

“But now I don‘t need that. Now I have probably understood and realised that I’ve had an extremely full, fulfilling, incredible journey in my athletic and professional career and now it’s time to close that chapter.

“Now it’s the beginning of a completely new chapter in my life and we see what’s possible as opposed to searching for what’s missing.”