Ash Barty reveals corporate move in first role after retiring from tennis

Three-time grand slam winner Ash Barty has revealed she is pursuing a new corporate role at a major firm, less than six months after retiring from tennis.

Exclusive: Just months after her shock retirement from tennis at 25, Ash Barty is entering the corporate world.

Barty has joined Optus to help inspire Australians to be “the best version of themselves” as their Chief of Inspiration.

The three-time grand slam winner, who is following in the footsteps of other athletes-turned-business professionals, Grant Hackett, Michael Klim and Libby Trickett, will work on content initiatives, employee engagement programs, as well as community-focused campaigns.

Ash Barty will get to work alongside Daniel Ricciardo in hew new role at Optus. Picture: Supplied/Matthew Lewis

She said she was excited to work alongside other “brilliant” Aussie athletes at Optus, such as swimmer Ian Thorpe, Paralympian Ellie Cole, and F1 racing driver Daniel Ricciardo, who is the telco’s Chief of Optimism.

Earlier this year, former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian joined the telco as a managing director of Enterprise, Business and Institutional.

Barty said there were “plenty of lessons” from sport that could be applied to the corporate sector.

Optus Chief of Inspiration Ash Barty, pictured at Optus Campus at Macquarie Park in Sydney. Picture: Richard Dobson

“From sport, I’ve learnt the positivity and the really good aspects in life that can come out of friendship and being in active teamwork,” Barty said.

“Whether its sport or the corporate world, the most important thing is to find what makes you happy.

“Sometimes it means that brave or courageous decision, that conscious decision to say yes, and to feel like you are making a difference.”

An Optus spokesperson confirmed Barty is being paid, saying: “At Optus we like to think we have great remuneration and benefits for all our staff, and Ash is no different.”

Serena Williams has announced she, too, will be putting down the racquet. Picture: Getty Images/AFP

Meanwhile, Barty paid tribute to the “incredible” Serena Williams, who will follow her into retirement after the US Open later this month.

“(Serena) is one of the most decorated in our sport,” she said.

“She is someone that has a lot of interest off the tennis court as well, and I think that her next phase, whenever that starts, whenever that may be, it’s going to be really exciting for her. I’m sure she will be great.”

Ash Barty and Garry Kissick got married in July in Queensland with their families and close friends in attendance. Picture: Nic Morley

Barty has not slowed down since packing away her tennis racquets in March.

She married her long-time partner Garry Kissick — a trainee professional golfer — in Queensland last month. She also published her Little Ash series of kids’ books and is writing her memoir.

“I’m now able to explore some different passions of mine and work with different people, which has been fantastic,” she said.

Ash Barty and her niece, Lucy, look at the retired tennis star’s new Little Ash children’s story books. Picture: Nic Morley

Barty is also working on establishing a tennis academy with former coaches Craig Tyzzer and Jason Stoltenberg to help “grow Australian tennis, particularly on the women’s side”.

“It‘s (the program) is a work in progress but something I am very passionate about,” she said.

Barty follows other sporting stars who have made the move to corporate, including Grant Hackett, as Head of Sport and Entertainment at Westpac, Michael Klim with his own multimillion-dollar skincare company Milk & Co and Libby Tricket, who co-founded Unlocking Her Potential.

A collective of 40 big sports names, including GWS Giants midfields Matt de Boer, NBA champion Andrew Bogut and Olympic gold medal swimmer Bronte Campbell, formed Athletic Ventures, a private equity group that is helping start-ups such as Fusion Sport and HealthMatch.