Kyrgios, Kokkinakis & Tsitsipas React To Barty's Retirement
Kyrgios, Kokkinakis & Tsitsipas React To Barty’s Retirement
Nick Kyrgios, Thanasi Kokkinakis and Stefanos Tsitsipas were among the ATP Tour players who had high praise for Ashleigh Barty on Wednesday at the Miami Open presented by Itau following the Aussie’s retirement announcement.
“[It is] incredible to be honest,” Kyrgios said in reaction to the news following his first-round win against Adrian Mannarino. “As soon as I saw the news I was surprised, obviously. I obviously have my thoughts on it, but it’s her life, so she can decide whatever she wants to do with it.”
Kyrgios added: “She’s achieved much more than the majority in the tennis world, so I don’t think anyone can really tell her what to do. She wants to go chase another dream or build up on another part of her life, that’s her choice.”
ATP Stars Pay Tribute To Retiring WTA No. 1 Ash Barty
Kokkinakis spoke about how he has known Barty and her family for years and how great they have been to him over the years.
“She’s done all there is to do in this sport. She deserves it,” Kokkinakis said. “I know her agent very well, her family. Her dad always sends me messages whenever I’m doing well or succeeding, so he’s always been a great guy to me and they’ve been a great family. I wish her all the best for the future.
“The game’s going to miss her for sure. The only thing if I was her, I would have loved to have seen her do it after she won the Aussie Open on the mic, that would have been sick! She deserves everything. She’s a hell of a player. Who knows, I wouldn’t rule out her coming back and maybe playing again, but we’ll see.”
Tsitsipas, the third seed in Miami, reflected on Barty’s retirement during his pre-tournament press conference.
“Ash Barty’s retirement announcement was very shocking to me. I found it through social media after scrolling my feed. I saw that video. I watched the entire video in disbelief because I couldn’t believe what I just saw,” Tsitsipas said. “She’s been doing incredibly well. Honestly, she’s at the peak of her game right now I think, having won Wimbledon [and the] Aussie Open recently.”