Cheering for Ash

This weekend, the Australian Open tennis concludes with the men’s and women’s finals, and Australians will have a home-grown hero to cheer for in the women’s singles final.

Ash Barty is the world’s number one female tennis player and a favourite amongst the local crowd. After winning the French Open in 2019, Ash shot to the number one ranking for women’s tennis and has stayed there ever since. Last year, she added the Wimbledon singles crown to her Grand Slam achievements, but her ascendancy to the top of women’s tennis almost didn’t happen.

After mediocre results in her teenage years, she gave tennis away in 2014. She was only 18 years of age and ranked outside the top 200 women’s tennis players. She needed a break, but it wasn’t long before she took up cricket, playing for the Brisbane Heat in the Women’s Big-Bash League. It appeared that she was lost to tennis.

Ash returned to tennis in 2016 with a new coach, and no one thought she would climb to these dizzy heights. She had a breakout year in singles in 2017, winning her first WTA title and rising to No. 17 in the world despite having never been ranked inside the top 100 before. By May 2019, Ash was the French Open champion. This Saturday night, she will play American Danielle Collins in the women’s final of the Australian Open.

Aussies love their sportspeople when they are successful, and every one of them will be cheering for Ash.