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Ash Barty: 18 Things People Don’t Know About The Recent WTA World No 1.

Ash Barty

At age 25, Ashleigh Barty aka Ash Barty is already one of the best Australian tennis players in history. WTA World No 1 Ashleigh Barty took most of 2020 off, opting to stay in her country Australia rather than travel the world during the coronavirus pandemic. She has returned to action in style, with her triumphs in 2021 including a defence of the Miami Open title she had first won in 2019, and a clay-court title at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. She is featured in the top-20 in doubles as well, winning the 2018 US Open with partner CoCo Vandeweghe.

Ash Barty: 18 Facts About The Australian Tennis Player!

Ash Barty ended 2020 as world no.1

The Queenslander’s prowess on the court has been nothing short of meteoric – from ‘Grand Slam winner’ to ‘world number one’ – her talent took her from Brisbane to the world stage.

Ash Barty returned to compete after an 11-month hiatus due to the pandemic. 

Ash Barty’s 11-month hiatus came to an end with the Australian Open but even before that was always looking forward to getting back on the court and playing a competitive match.

“I’ve been working really hard over the last few months to be prepared for the Aussie summer and I feel ready to play,” said Barty to 9Honey. 

Here’s why she took most of 2020 off

The tennis star spent most of 2020 on the sidelines due to the pandemic, but it’s important to note that Barty once spent just 27 days out of 365 at home. 

Perhaps this is why she declined to travel for international tournaments even when they resumed midway through the year. 

Before Barty was popping up at around age 15, she once spent just 27 days with her family in a calendar year. This was when she  began playing on a junior circuit and the former top-20 player, Jason Stoltenberg took over as her main coach. 

This was also when 15-year-old Ash Barty was on tour playing all over Europe, while her family stayed behind in Australia. The young tennis star participated in the US Open and the Australian Open, while she continuously trained year-round. 

Overall, the 15-year-old’s efforts have netted her the top ranking in the world, but it came at the sacrifice of spending time with her family on the side – which is why we assume she let 2020 go by without any touring glitches to worry about. 

She was recently named the ambassador for Venus Australia’s My Skin My Way Campaign

The Aussie tennis star has teamed up with Venus Australia because along with training, Ash

Barty says self-care also comes into the equation. 

She’s a creature of habit when it comes to her beauty rituals and said: “I make sure I’m always match-ready with my Venus Extra smooth Platinum Razor and use Esmi Skin Minerals products to keep my skin in good shape.” 

She loves her coffee

Coffee lovers unite as the world’s top female tennis player starts the day with a hot cup of coffee too! 

“First thing in the morning is always coffee time!”…”During the day I train for a few hours with my coach, see my physio, have some lunch and at least two more coffees.

Sometimes she trains at night before a tournament

Ash Barty’s preparation for the tournament involves various training sessions, plenty of rest, and close attention to her eating and sleep habits. 

“Getting closer to the event, I adjust my training schedule to replicate potential match times, which may include some training sessions at night.”

Off the court, she is involved in community projects to inspire other short athletes 

The Aussie athlete said she hopes to use her profile to encourage young people to chase their dreams.

“I was told I was too short to play tennis… I hope I can help inspire boys and girls to believe in themselves and have the confidence to take their own path.”

Ash Barty is involved in a number of community projects largely focused on young people and one among them is the National Girls in Sport initiative, which aims to increase the visibility and equality of women’s sport and prompt girls to become involved in it.

“My sisters are my rock”

Ash Barty has plenty of impressive titles under her belt. However, there’s another title the Aussie athlete is equally proud of, and it’s got nothing to do with the tennis court.

Family has been particularly important throughout the past 12 months for the new world no 1 champ. 

“Being an auntie … is my favourite role in the world. Nothing makes me happier than spending time with my little nieces and nephew,” Barty, 24, told 9Honey.

Amid all her successes, Barty says her two big sisters, Sara and Ali, have been her “rock” and kept her grounded.

“We are a very close family, and they have supported me through all stages of my career,” she said. 

“They are always on the other end of the phone to make me laugh, say the right things after I’ve had a tough match, or keep me grounded by reminding me I am their little sister.”

Garry Kissic is her boyfriend

Tennis star Ash Barty has been in a relationship with Garry Kissick, a professional golfer, since 2017. In 2020, Barty won a championship at the Brookwater Golf Club, which is where she met Kissick in 2016.

She nearly retired from tennis

By the time she was 24, she had already won eight singles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as eight doubles titles. She has also participated in the Australian Open while she was 16 years old. After winning the 2019 French Open, she had taken off to higher levels as one of the best in the world – maybe this is why she has almost retired? 

Actually no, Barty announced she was going to take a break from tennis in 2014! 

After the 2014 US Open, Barty said that she had been traveling too much and needed to take some time off. The stress led to a burn out which led to an abrupt retirement. After the announcement, Barty expressed an interest in playing cricket. 

Playing cricket came as a shock to all because she did not play the game when she was younger. The young tennis star eventually chose to train with the Queensland Fire and played competitively with the Western Suburbs District Cricket Club, where she played in 13 matches. 

Barty would soon come out of retirement by 2016 after she met with the Australian women’s national team in early 2015 to discuss her experience. 

She is a National Indigenous Tennis Ambassador (NITA)

Ash Barty is the NITA for Tennis Australia which calls for the tennis star to promote participation in the sport of tennis. 

At the National Dreamtime Awards, a ceremony that honors Indigenous Australians, Barty was recognized as the Female Sportsperson of the Year! She seems to be marketed so well thanks to her ancestry, prowess, and hard work on the court, which makes Barty perfect for this title. 

With Aborigine blood from her father, Robert, who is from the Ngarigo community of indigenous people, Ash Barty proudly asserts her origins saying: “We need to let children know that it’s a career opportunity,” she says, p One of her great idols, Evonne Goolagong-Cawley, is from an Australian Aboriginal family, and she won seven Grand Slam singles titles, including one at Roland Garros in 1971.

She doesn’t just fit the title well, she fits the role well too! As a regular fixture for young adults and teens, Barty has come to grow and love her role as a promoter of women in sports, especially in tennis.

According to Tennis Australia, her mission is to scout out potential tennis champions among the country’s indigenous populations.

She successfully defended her Miami Open title for the first time in her professional career

When asked about her thoughts on the importance of successfully defending a title for the first time, she said: 

“The importance probably not as much but the experience and the kind of emotions that come with it are quite unique. It’s something that is obviously very difficult to do particularly after a two-year gap I suppose. Not the way I would have wanted the match to end, I felt for Bianca, but all the work the last two weeks and this tournament has been really special, and I think to defend my title, particularly for what a special week Miami was for me in 2019, to be able to do that again this past week is really, really cool”. 

During her Miami Open win, she said she felt herself improving

Being able to work our way through that first match and kind of get our teeth into the tournament a little bit, it’s nice to give yourself a chance each match to improve and I found with each match the tennis did improve which is all you can ask, and whether that’s going deeper into tournaments or an opportunity for the next tournament, it’s about trying to improve every single time you walk on the court. I felt we were able to do that really well and adjust to the different styles of players and adapt to different game plans and execute them well”, she said to Wearetennis in an interview. 

She considers her matches an adventure of sorts

“Without doubt through the season, we are going to have tough moments, that’s natural, that’s normal, that’s sport. It’ll be those moments where I am tested the most, but we also have to look through the lens that it’s an adventure; that’s what we have been trying to instil in myself, my team. 

Whatever comes of it, good, bad or in-between, it’s an adventure and an experience and in five years, ten years or 20 years time I’m sure we are going to have a lot of moments out of the season of 2021 that we laugh at, there will be a few tears no doubt but there will be a helluva lot more laughter and lot more smiles”

This is what being world No. 1 means to her right now

“I feel I enjoy the challenge of being No.1, not the responsibility in a way, I just enjoy the challenge and the challenge to continue to improve regardless of what your ranking is.

It’s important to try and grow every single day and that’s both a personal goal and a professional goal, to grow as a person and as an athlete every single day. So, In doing that, I’d love to try and inspire the next generation coming through and put a smile on boys and girls faces all over the world and particularly around Australia”.

Barty was born in Ipswich, Australia, and has a partially indigenous background

Ashleigh Barty was born on 24 April 1996 to her father Robert Barty who is a Ngarigo Indigenous Australian and her mother Josie Barty who is an Australian of English origin.

Barty grew up in Springfield, a suburb of Ipswich in Queensland and started playing tennis at the age of four. She had an impressive junior career, winning the 2011 Wimbledon girls’ singles title and reaching as high as World No. 2. While this was going on her dad used to work in the Australian government and her mom worked as a radiographer and is the daughter of English immigrants.

She also grew up with two older sisters named Sara and Ali Barty. 

Style of play

WTA World No 1 Ashleigh Barty plays old-school tennis composed of an equal mix of offense and defense. She doesn’t hit the ball as hard as her peers, especially off the backhand side, but she uses variations in pace and spin to unsettle her opponents.

Barty frequently comes to the net, and is adept at hitting volleys. She also uses the backhand slice liberally, keeping the ball low off that wing to elicit errors from her opponents.

Strengths and weaknesses

Ash Barty’s court sense is her biggest strength. She is a strategic player who knows how to outmaneuver her opponents, and her chess-like game can give headaches to even the most experienced tennis players.

The Australian has a multi-faceted forehand which she can roll deep crosscourt and also hit flat down the line. Her two-handed backhand is used mainly as a rally shot; it is consistent and deep, even if it lacks a bit of pace.

The Aussie tennis star’s backhand slice is a major weapon, both in offense and defense. Ash Barty can hit short slices to draw her opponents to the net, or hit sharply angled ones to pull them wide, or even hit low biting ones which she follows into the net.

The Queenslander has a decent serve and also moves well around the court. She is an exceptional volleyer, and is capable of keeping up the pressure on her opponents with her relentless forays to the net.

WTA World No 1 Ashleigh Barty’s biggest, and possibly only, weakness is her relative lack of firepower. She can get hit off the court by bigger opponents, and is forced to scramble all over the court plenty of times.

Her winning style 

On 9th June, Ashleigh Barty lifted the Coupe Suzanne-Lenglen on Centre Court at Roland Garros. The way tennis star Ash Barty sealed her victory, in a highly effective manner 

says a lot about this new icon and queen of world tennis.

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