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Almost three years after retiring, Ash Barty is revelling in the deeds of some of Australia’s greatest athletes and predicting it could lead to a golden boom at the Brisbane Olympics in 2032.
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After retiring in March, 2022, following her drought-breaking Australian Open triumph, the Queenslander has remained busy in several different facets of her life.
Aside from looking after son Hayden — the toddler was keeping his mum on her toes during a chat with foxsports.com.au this week after it was announced she would have a Barbie made in her liking — Barty and husband Garry Kissick are expecting again.
The former world No.1 was in Melbourne during January for commitments with The Ash Barty Foundation along with other demands which also took her back to Melbourne Park for the Australian Open.
She continues to provide guidance and support to some of the nation’s leading players, with a string of younger Australians starting to make their mark on the women’s tour this year.
But after gracing Wimbledon’s Centre Court last year in the Legend’s Doubles while completing commentary duties with the BBC, the 2021 champion will not be back at the All England Club this year for understandable reasons given her growing family.
A busy life has not quenched her thirst for competition, with Barty satisfying her love of sport through relationships with some of the nation’s top athletes while also watching others excel from afar.
With the world celebrating International Women’s Day on Saturday, foxsports.com.au took the chance to ask Barty about the Australian athletes who have inspired her in retirement.
From the extraordinary performance of several stars in the Paris Olympics to the Ashes whitewash by the Alyssa Healy-led Australians, from Hannah Green’s resurgence on the LPGA Tour to the growth of star surfer Molly Picklum, there has been much for Aussie fans including the 28-year-old to celebrate over the past 12 months.
When the tennis star was in her pomp on the tour, her coach Craig Tyzzer told this journalist that it would be about a decade or so until the “Barty Effect” was realised.
By that, he meant that young girls who were inspired by the Queenslander’s style and deeds would be maturing into elite players in the early 2030s.
Barty is of a similar belief when it comes to the legacy champions including the Fox sisters, Emma McKeon and the golden girls of the swimming pool, among others, will leave will leave after their Paris triumphs.
“I think Brisbane is going to be a real sweet spot. Through Paris we saw not older athletes by any means, but you saw more established athletes winning. I think in LA (in 2028) you are probably going to see a bit more of a mix,” she said.
“But I really do believe that come Brisbane, it’s going to be a bit of a boom for the younger generation to be dominant, both in men and women, but particularly on the women’s side.
“I feel like we’re going to have a few young guns come through in 2032, and that’s exciting. It’s scary to think that you’ve got eight, nine, ten or 11-year-old girls who are going to be standing up there on the podium in Brisbane.”
While winning an Olympic gold is the pinnacle for many athletes, just as securing a slam is the goal for a tennis player, there is a more important factor at play, Barty said.
The importance of keeping girls and young women active and engaged in playing sports is a topic that has been canvassed at length and is an issue that has proven challenging.
But Barty believes Australian stars are setting an outstanding example for younger female athletes through their approach to the sports of their choice.
“I think there is value in playing for the right reasons, playing sport the right way, being authentic, being genuine to yourself and not being afraid to test the limits in a fair way,” she said.
“And I think that’s probably what we’ve seen from a lot of the successful Australian athletes in the past, both men and women, that the Australian public have fallen in love with. It’s because they’re really genuine people. And Aussies are able to see through (false bravado) pretty quickly.
“I think that those who have the best rapport with the public are those who are genuinely themselves and they aren’t afraid to hide that and aren’t trying to be someone that they’re not.
“It’s in a pretty good place at the moment, women’s sport, and I think really it’s just the beginning leading into the next 10 or 15 years, because you think of all these young girls who are going through that junior sport now, those stages of development, they’re going to be in a pretty good place in 10 or so years.
“(There is a) generation now who will have proper structure (around) their sport. You think of girls’ footy, for example. That wasn’t there ten years ago. It was kind of the girls blending in with the boys and, but now there’s more of a structure for different sports.
“And I just think in 10 years time there’s going to be that whole generation of girls who have tried five or six different things but have found that spark, have found that curiosity, have found the thing that makes them creative … so I think that’s what’s exciting.”
A LOOK AT THE ATHLETES WHO HAVE INSPIRED ASH OVER THE PAST YEAR
Hannah Green
It is almost six years since surfer Sally Fitzgibbons delivered a corker of a quote after she, Barty and Hannah Green broke through for significant global successes on the same weekend in June, 2019.
Fitzgibbons had just become the world No.1 after winning the World Surf League’s Rio Pro, while Barty ascended to the top spot for the first time after winning in Birmingham a few weeks after her breakthrough at Roland Garros.
Meanwhile Green made magic in Minneapolis when breaking through for the first major title in the US PGA Championship.
“It was a special feeling when someone sent through a pic of the three of us – Ash Barty, Hannah Green and myself — just that realisation that we’d all had cracker nights and everyone was frothin’ on the Aussie women,” Fitzgibbons said.
Green enjoyed a stellar 2024 when posting three successes on the LPGA Tour in Singapore, Korea and Los Angeles to bounce back into the top 10.
Barty was delighted when the Western Australian made a dash across from Perth in January to participate in the AB Foundation golf day at Peninsula Kingswood, saying she was “so generous with her time” when predicting another major title “was just around the corner”.
“She’s a bloody good person and I love watching her play and I love following her career,” Barty said.
“I think she’s someone that I’m always looking out for and always kind of trying to keep on track of what she’s doing, because she is a joy to watch.”
The 28-year-old has had three starts to date this year and recorded top 10 finishes in her two most recent events, the Founders Cup and Women’s World Championship in February.
“Probably what surprises me the most with Hannah is really how much she flies under radar,” Barty said.
“She was a multiple winner last year and was back into the top 10, but she is just that kind of normal Aussie chick and that’s what I love. She’ll come back and she’ll go and play her local comp when she’s at home.
“She’s got that fire in the belly when she steps onto the course, when she’s over there playing on the LPGA, but she’s had such a normal, grounded background and upbringing.
“She’s just such a genuine girl and to see her having the success and the consistency that she has had over the last 12 months, it’s just the beginning. I’ve noticed her continuing to grow and get better. She is moving forward in leaps and bounds. She’ll always be in the discussions around those big events and I’m sure another major is just around the corner.”
SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE – MARCH 02: Hannah Green of Australia tees off on the third hole during Day Four of the HSBC Women’s World Championship 2025 at Sentosa Golf Club on March 02, 2025 in Singapore. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images)Source: Getty ImagesThe Aussie Cricketers
Anyone who knows the Roland Garros, Wimbledon and Aussie Open champion will know that she loves her cricket and Barty enjoyed a stint with the Brisbane Heat during a sabbatical from the tennis tour as a teenager.
Barty watched with admiration as another keen golfer in Alyssa Healy led the Australians to an unprecedented 16-0 whitewash of England during the recent Ashes series in January, capped by a dominant win in the historic pink ball Test at the MCG.
What the Queenslander has loved about the women’s cricket team is its consistency and resilience, with the Aussies rebounding from a shock World Cup exit in October in style.
But she is also delighted that younger stars led by Annabel Sutherland, who was crowned the Belinda Clark Medallist in February, are challenging more established stars of a side Barty described as arguably the “most impressive team in Australia”.
“Now we’ve seen that with a few of the older girls either not playing or if they have been injured, there are opportunities for these young girls to come through, and they’ve absolutely hit the ground running. And you know, Annabel is probably the perfect example of that,” she said.
“She’s hit the ground running and come to an international level where she’s comfortable and she’s ready. That’s probably the biggest thing. Over an extended period, they’ve created a hunger and an urgency for girls to force their way into the team.
“They have been so dominant for so long but they’ve been able to stay hungry, and they’ve been able to create a really healthy competition within the team … so there has been no complacency. And that’s probably what has been most impressive, and probably why they are one of the most impressive teams in Australian sport, full stop, is that just for so long they have been hungry but humble. They are all the things you look for in a successful professional outfit.”
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – FEBRUARY 01: Alana King, Alyssa Healy, Tahlia McGrath and Beth Mooney of Australia celebrate with the trophy after winning the Women’s Ashes Test Match between Australia and England at Melbourne Cricket Ground on February 01, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Molly Picklum
Barty grew up in Queensland and is a good mate of Steph Gilmore, but that does not mean she is a natural in the water. She likes to keep her feet firmly on the grass she once excelled on with a racquet in hand.
But she shares an agent with Gilmore and the emerging star Picklum and is a big fan of the Central Coast surfer, who made her Olympics debut last year.
The 22-year-old is sitting second in the World Surf League rankings and doing some miraculous work on the board around the globe’s most famous surfing spots.
Picklum will be back in Australia for events at Bells Beach, Margaret River and the Gold Coast later this month and Barty is looking forward to seeing the young star in action.
Molly Picklum has set her mind on winning the world title this year. Photo: Brett HemmingsSource: News Corp Australia“There has been massive, massive growth from ‘Pickle’. She’s probably getting to one of the most exciting stages in her career now where she’s a genuine contender for a World Championship,” Barty said.
“To be so young and to be so confident in your ability, and to know that’s your direction, is really fun to watch. She’s someone who has so much energy and what you see is what you get with Molly. I mean, she’s a great girl.
“There is a common trend between all the teams and people we’re talking about, but that’s what I mean … she’s just a good person doing what she does best and enjoying it, loving and putting herself out there.
“She is not afraid to fail and then pick herself up and get back to work. And that is a pretty good role model for young girls who are looking to explore that kind of career in surfing and in all different sports as well.”
The Golden Girls
As a massive sports fan, Barty loves the Olympics and took in as much of the action as she could last August in Paris while nursing Hayden, who turns two midway through the year.
A bronze medallist in the Tokyo Olympics when partnering John Peers, she was amazed at the trailblazing deeds of our female athletes, who won 13 of the nation’s 18 gold medals.
The gold rush was sparked by cyclist Grace Brown and Barty has no doubt the deeds of the Australian Olympians will inspire a new generation of athletes across the nation.
“It felt like it was just a continuous highlight reel and I think that was what drew so many Aussies to appreciate the games,” she said.
“Particularly after Tokyo and what was a really strange sort of Games, I think it was back to a proper celebration. All of a sudden people are interested. They’re keen. And there are these incredible stories of so many women breaking down barriers.
“Nina Kennedy was absolutely incredible. I remember watching that live. ‘Wow’. And obviously Jess and Noemie Fox, and you had Emma (McKeon) in the pool and Ariarne (Titmus) as well, there were just so many stories you could talk about.
“And I really do think that the environment that’s created around women’s sport at the moment is just breeding success. There are so many people hungry to do well and to see that others are doing it, they can go, ‘That could be me. Why not me?’”
