Ash Barty, a three-time Grand Slam singles champion, retired just over two years ago at the age of 25 and plans to remain retired.
During her exhibition doubles match at Wimbledon on Wednesday, Barty humorously searched for a thesaurus.
“You guys are killing me,” Barty told reporters. “Does anyone have a thesaurus for a word that I can use for ‘no?’”
Barty played an invitation doubles match on Centre Court exactly three years after she won the Wimbledon title by defeating Karolina Pliskova.
Naturally, her return to the All England Club sparked questions about a potential comeback.
She made it clear she is not interested. A year ago, Barty gave birth to a baby boy. She is also providing commentary for the BBC’s Wimbledon coverage.
“I’ve got a beautiful commentary box on both Centre and Court 1,” she said. “You get a good view and can absorb what’s happening on the court. Hopefully, people at home enjoy what I have to say. I don’t know if I’m right, wrong, or indifferent, but I’m enjoying it.”
Now 28, Barty said she doesn’t dwell on what might have happened had she stayed on tour to compete with Iga Swiatek for the No. 1 ranking.
“I really enjoy watching others succeed,” she said. “We’ve seen Iga dominate for most of the last two and a half years. She’s been incredible with her composure and her incredible runs, winning matches and really dominating, which is hard to do. It’s been very impressive to watch from afar.”
In the exhibition match, Barty and Casey Dellacqua defeated Andrea Petkovic and Magdalena Rybarikova.
“I love tennis. I love being here. I love being involved,” Barty said. “Now, I just get to pick and choose in small doses, which is really nice.”
