Coach reveals Ash Barty asked if she could retire after 2019 French Open win

Ash Barty shocked the world by giving tennis away at the age of 25, but one question showed it was on her mind for much longer.

Ash Barty during her retirement press conference, Brisbane. Picture: Liam Kidston.

Ash Barty stunned the world with her retirement announcement on Wednesday but her inner circle may just have been surprised she went this long.

At just 25, Barty finishes her career with three grand slam titles, an Olympic bronze medal and a three-year reign as world No. 1.

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While an outpouring of shock came from the public who idolised the Queenslander for her sportsmanship and skill, her inner circle wouldn’t have been surprised at Barty giving the game away at such a young age.

Rarely did an interview go by where Barty didn’t praise her team, always saying “we” rather than “I”.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Barty’s long-time coach Craig Tyzzer revealed she asked about retiring after winning the 2019 French Open. She would have been just 22.

Barty was done after the French Open. Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images

Her Roland Garros triumph came less than a month before Barty became world No. 1 by taking out the Nature Valley Classic in Birmingham, to follow in the footsteps of her hero Evonne Goolagong Cawley as just the second Aussie to top the WTA rankings.

“Ash probably remembers, even after her first grand slam win, I had prepared this speech about how profound this was going to be and what it meant to her,” Tyzzer revealed.

“The first thing she said to me was, ‘Can I retire now?’

“And I said, ‘I’m not ready for that’. It’s not a shock for me.”

Tyzzer said he felt the end was near after Barty won Wimbledon, which had been a lifelong dream.

Barty took a year off in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic and in 2021 hit the road, spending the best part of nine months away from home with Tyzzer by her side.

Tyzzer said Wimbledon was the pinnacle, while the Australian Open triumph in January was “for everyone else but not for her”.

“I sort of started (believing her career was coming to an end) after Wimbledon,” Tyzzer said.

“I mean, that was an obvious goal for us and once she achieved it, it was … I think once we got to the Olympics, it sort of hit home for me, that there wasn’t much left in her.

“The motivation wasn’t there except when she played doubles with Storm (Sanders) and mixed doubles with John Peers (at the Olympics), her singles really went by the wayside.

“I sort of felt she’d climbed where she needed to get to, and it was going to be a hard slog to keep her involved.

“It was really difficult to do the pre-season for the Aussie summer circuit. She just put her head down super hard.

“The hardest thing was trying to motivate her to get a spark to (light). Her tennis and her mindset was so relaxed and easy going with it all. It was almost like she didn’t care if she won or lost, but she obviously did.”

This was the real end. Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Tyzzer is not the only one to reveal Barty was planning to leave the game at a young age.

Aussie tennis legend Pat Rafter revealed she told him at last year’s Australian Open Wimbledon was the goal.

The Aussie’s retirement was also unsurprising for some rivals in the locker room according to Sports Illustrated’s Jon Wertheim.

“Here’s the truth: While the Australian media has already described this as a ‘shock announcement’, it is anything but,” Wertheim wrote.

“Even as Barty was dominating the Australian Open in January, rumours whipped through the players’ lounge that she might gather the trophy and mic-drop retire.”

Although Barty didn’t explain what her future plans include, she said she wasn’t planning a John Farnham-style comeback.

As for what’s next, Barty wants to remain a role model and continue working in the Indigenous community, saying “that’s what lights me up inside”.

Barty looks on at Tyzzer. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

She revealed she had been considering retirement “for a while” and becoming the first Australian woman in 44 years to win at Melbourne Park was the perfect way to finish her career.

“Yeah, we’ve been in discussions for a while,” Barty said.

“After Wimbledon my perspective changed a lot and there was this beautiful challenge of trying to play the Australian Open and trying to win an Australian Open which was always another goal of mine, and to do that as a team and to do that with the people that meant so much to me was incredible.

“There is no perfect way, there is no perfect timing but this was our perfect way, and it was a great finish.”