It had been one of those busy mornings, where one meeting or email led into the next. Where text messages and WhatsApp notifications just go on unnoticed, until some peace and quiet finally eventuate in your day.
So, as I jumped in the lift at Channel Nine with our cameraman, Elliot, what was to come out of his mouth took me by complete surprise.
“What about Ash Barty?” he said abruptly.
READ MORE: Barty says she’s ‘not hiding anything’ in retirement bombshell
READ MORE: Hall says sorry after being brutalised by Sonny Bill
READ MORE: Cummins, Starc devastate Pakistan in lethal hour
READ MORE: Serena’s sweet farewell for Barty
“What’s happened?” was my immediate reaction, hoping nothing sinister had occurred. (We have had a few of those lately. RIP Warnie).
“She’s retired. Just announced it on Insta” was Elliot’s reply.
Ash Barty retired. Pull the other one. Surely, it could not be true!
The first thing that popped into my mind was her age. Isn’t she only 26 or 27? Why would she be retiring now?
But as I whipped out my phone and turned to various social media and news sites, I saw it for my own eyes. ‘Barty announces retirement at 25, after a decorated career’.
National icon. Hero. Role model.
Our nine-year-old daughter, Harper, has an Ash Barty poster up on her wall. There is nothing else hanging in her room, such is the impact Barty has had on her.
And of all the heroes and icons for her to look up to, I am so glad she looks up to Barty. I know I do.
I particularly love listening to Ash when she talks to the media. There is so much grace, composure and common sense.
When she won a tennis match, it was always about ‘us as a team’ referring to the preparation she had undertaken with her coach, Craig Tyzzer and the others around her that had just contributed to her victory.
When she lost, she would often say ‘you don’t lose, you learn’. Wise words for someone in their mid-twenties.
Barty may have been the only person in the world who saw this retirement announcement coming; so it’s no wonder the whole of Australia, plus the tennis world, is understandably shocked by her hanging up the racquet.
The only people in the world happy with this news, might be her competitors.
After winning at Wimbledon last year, the three-time grand slam champion became the first Australian in 44 years to win at Melbourne Park and lift the Australian Open trophy.
Barty gave tennis her all, 100 per cent all of the time. And like she said, it’s the best way to go out.
Winning a grand slam on all three surfaces – clay, grass and hard court – is an incredible feat and puts her in elite company.
But because of the seemingly premature announcement, she will not end up being an all-time great that sits alongside the likes of Graff, Court and Williams. Longevity in the game and sustained success is what places those at the top echelon of the sport.
But her reach is far beyond any amount of tennis trophies. It is what she stands for. It’s her ability to connect across genders, race and sexaulity and stand above other modern-day athletes as a beacon of sensibility and moral compass.
The best bit, she is normal. Normal in a way that most Australians would love to have a coffee with her, or have her around for a barbecue. Barty feels like an everyday Aussie, an everyday Aussie with an irresistible mindset and an incredible slice backhand.
But maybe we all should’ve seen this coming. After all, it has happened before.
Homesick and burnt out after her early days on the world tennis circuit, she turned to cricket and club tennis coaching as a way of rekindling her love for the game.
That malaise appears to have landed with her again.
“I don’t have the physical drive, the emotional want and everything it takes to challenge yourself at the very top level anymore. I just know I am absolutely spent,” she said in her retirement video.
“I know physically I have nothing more to give and that for me is success. I’ve given absolutely everything I can to this beautiful sport of tennis and I’m really happy with that.”
And that is why we love Ash. Honest and straightforward to the end, knowing that she can’t, or doesn’t want to make the effort to continue to be the best anymore – to keep giving her 100 per cent.
There is much more to life than playing elite sport. I know that as much as anyone else, after retiring from the AFL more than five and a half years ago.
With most of the pressure off and blinkers removed, your new life brings adventures and enjoyment you weren’t sure were possible without the competition.
And Ash now gets the chance to challenge herself in other ways. Be busy in a different way than that of an elite tennis player.
Well played, Ash. Harper and I, and all of Australia tip our hat to you.
* Matthew Pavlich is a Nine sports presenter and co-founder of Pickstar
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!