"I hit enough tennis balls in my life" - Barty admits to not watching Wimbledon finals, has no plans to return to tennis

Ashleigh Barty has revealed she didn’t watch any of the Wimbledon finals, stating she’s “hit enough tennis balls” in her life.

Barty shocked the tennis world by retiring two months after winning the Australian Open singles title in Melbourne. The former world No.1 was the defending women’s Wimbledon champion but decided to steer clear of the final between Ons Jabeur and Elena Rybakina which was won by the Kazakhstani.

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“I didn’t watch this year’s Wimbledon finals,” Barty told The Guardian. “Sorry to disappoint. Obviously I was rapt for Ons and Elena, who are both brilliant girls and it was obviously awesome to see Nick [Kyrgios], who I’ve known for over a dozen years, get to the final. But since retiring I’ve probably watched as many matches as I did when I was playing, which was slim to none.

“Occasionally we’ll have it on as background noise but it’s very seldom that I’ll sit down and watch a match from start to end with any interest. I hit enough tennis balls in my life. I don’t need to see others hitting them as well."

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Furthermore, the 26-year old insisted she has no thoughts about making a return to the sport.

“I’ve no regrets about retiring,” said Barty. “Not one. I knew it was the right time for me. It was what I wanted to do. And I know that a lot of people may still not understand it. But I hope they respect that in the sense that it was my decision. And yeah, it’s been incredible. It’s been everything that I’ve ever wanted.”

“I definitely miss seeing my mates. We spent so much time together and all of a sudden I’m living in a different corner of the globe. But retirement has been a really seamless transition.

“Instead of spending a few hours on the practice court every day I just get into different routines. And because I knew it was coming for quite a while, there wasn’t much of an adjustment."