Ashleigh Barty on future plans after tennis retirement: 'You'll have to wait and see'

Ashleigh Barty refused to give too much away when asked about her future plans, saying "you'll have to wait and see" after the world No 1 announced her shock retirement from tennis.

The three-time Grand Slam champion stunned the tennis world on Wednesday by saying she was hanging up her racquet, just weeks after becoming the first Australian in 44 years to win the Australian Open.

"I know the time is now right for me to step away and chase other dreams," Barty said in an emotional video interview with close friend and former doubles partner Casey Dellacqua.

However, what those "other dreams" might be, Barty decided not to go into detail when asked by media on Thursday.

"You'll have to wait and see, I'm not giving you everything right now. It's alright, you can be patient. Patience is a virtue," she told reporters in Brisbane. "We'll see."

Barty, 25, previously walked away from tennis to play in cricket's Big Bash League, with local media speculating a return to the crease could be on the cards, or even becoming a professional golfer or playing Australian Rules.

"I have seen some brilliant photoshops as a jockey, lawn bowls," Barty said. "I love sport, I'm a sport nut like a lot of Australians are. I'll be lured to it. I have always been an athlete in the sense of trying different things, but we'll see how we go."

She did confirm she wanted to work more with Indigenous Australians and spend time with her mum and dad, calling herself "a homebody".

"I have always wanted to have the time to contribute more in other ways," Barty said. "And I think now I have got that opportunity and I've been fortunate enough to have so many opportunities given to me from tennis, and now I'm ready to really give back in ways that I'm