Former world No 1 Ash Barty has revealed what she does not “miss” about playing professional tennis as she ruled out any potential return to the court.
The winner of three Grand Slam singles titles and world No 1 for 121 weeks during her legendary career, Barty was just 25 years of age when she announced her shock retirement from tennis in March 2022.
Barty was comfortably atop the WTA Rankings at the time and had won her home Grand Slam tournament, the Australian Open, less than two months prior to her retirement.
The Australian was also the reigning Wimbledon champion when she called time on her career, having lifted the title at SW19 in 2021, and was also the 2019 French Open champion — leaving her just a US Open crown away from the Career Grand Slam.
The winner of 15 WTA Tour singles titles and 12 doubles titles during her career, Barty has remained in the spotlight since her retirement and has worked as a broadcaster at times.
She married her long-time partner, Australian golfer Garry Kissick, in July 2022, and the couple welcomed son Hayden in July 2023, before welcoming their daughter Jordan in June 2025.
Speaking in a new interview with The New Daily this week, the 29-year-old claimed that her “priority” was her family, and that she had no real wish to return to competitive tennis.
“I don’t miss living out of a suitcase, that’s for sure,” said Barty.
“I’ve always been very much a homebody and I love being at home.
“I love spending time with my kids, my sisters and my nieces and nephew. I’m very, very happy living a boring, happy life.
“Obviously my No 1 priority and focus at the moment is being able to enjoy my kids and my family, and watch them grow and see them develop.
“I absolutely love my life. I love my kids. I love watching them learn and try new things and I can’t wait to enjoy the next few years with them.”
Barty’s Australian Open triumph was undoubtedly the defining moment of her career, and she was by and large a consistent performer on home soil.
Outside of her 2022 triumph, she was also a 2020 semi-finalist and 2021 quarter-finalist at her home Slam, while she was a two-time Adelaide International and one-time Yarra Valley Classic champion.
Barty was also a two-time runner-up at the Sydney International, but struggled to find her best tennis at her home event: the Brisbane International.
The 29-year-old grew up near Brisbane, though never discovered her best tennis at the event, failing to reach the quarter-final stage across five separate appearances.
She added: “It is so much fun playing at home, and I always wish that I’d played better at the Brisbane International, but it wasn’t meant to be.
“But something that I always appreciated was that we had the opportunity to play at home.
“Not every single girl in the world gets an opportunity to play in their backyard so for those Queenslanders, especially, it’s a special week.
“Regardless of whether you win or lose, you just get to come out here and get yourself sorted and play, enjoy, compete in front of your friends and family. It’s pretty fun.”
