On Tennis: ‘A Very Special Night’ for Ashleigh Barty Capped a Very Special Season

Ashleigh Barty made a bit of Tennis history Sunday evening at the Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen in southeastern China. The top-seeded Barty beat defending champion Elina Svitolina, 6-4, 6-3, before an enthusiastic, sold-out crowd inside Shenzhen Bay Tennis Centre and seen by a worldwide TV audience in the millions. At the end, she lifted the Billie Jean King Trophy and finished the year-end World No. 1.

For her achievement, Barty won more money – $4.42 million – than any male or female professional ever has in a single tennis tournament. And, the affable, 23-year old Aussie did so with a breathtaking performance that lasted a business-like one hour and 27 minutes to cap a most spectacular season.

“Bizarre, if I’m being complete honest. It feels like it’s been a year that just hasn’t stopped. It’s been a year of incredible ups and downs,” said Barty, who finished the WTA Finals 2-1 in her group (defeating Belinda Bencic and Petra Kvitova while losing only to Kiki Bertens) before toppling No. 2 seed Karolina Pliskova in the semifinals en route to reaching Sunday’s final. “ I think more ups than downs. To cap it off with a very, very special night tonight in Shenzhen is really cool.”

With her triumph, Barty becomes the first Australian since Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1974 and 1976 to capture the WTA Finals title and only the fifth player to win the tournament in her debut. The Queenslander has single-handily put Australian women’s tennis back on the map.

Against Svitolina, whom she came into the final with an 0-5 win-loss record in career head-to-heads, Barty took advantage of most – if not all – of her opportunities. She won close to 50 percent of her return points, broke Svitolina four times in eight tries – including three in the 10th game, finally hitting a forehand return winner on her third opportunity to win the opening set. The second set was characterized by five service breaks in the first eight games, which gave Barty a chance to serve for the match at 5-3. She closed it out at love.

On a night in which Svitolina managed to place only 55 percent of her first serves in play, the Ukrainian managed just two service aces after hitting a career-high 16 against Bencic a day earlier in the semifinals. “I missed just little bit of my chances and that’s what made the difference,” Svitolina said during her press conference.

As both players awaited the start of the awards ceremony, it was very evident from their facial expressions who had won and who came up short. Barty sat quietly and patiently, grinning from ear to ear, while Svitolina bore a look of total disappointment and fidgeted with her smartphone.

“For me, each time I stop on court I want to win. There is no other way. I want to win, doesn’t matter what tournament it is,” Svitolina recently told the WTA Insider. “Since I’ve been on the WTA Tour, I’ve won a title every year. I got a little bit spoiled, maybe.”

Although she will finish the year ranked No. 6 in the world, Svitolina did not win any WTA titles despite reaching the semifinals of both Wimbledon and the US Open as well as at Doha, Dubai and Indian Wells.

When Barty was asked during her final Shenzhen press conference to describe her breakthrough win against Svitolina, she said: “Tonight it felt like it was a lot more clear, a lot more concise from my end. I took my opportunities when I got them. (The forehand) was a side that I wanted to try to get into tonight. I think it was important for me to move forward, then to try to bring Elina in a few times as well, which worked really well.”

Barty was equally effective against Svitolina on the slow court, whether drawing her in toward the net with her deceptive drop shots and backhand slice – or from deeper back ripping forehand winners from the baseline.

Hall of Famer Lindsay Davenport, who won the 1999 WTA Finals title and commented on the final for Tennis Channel in the U.S., said: “Barty stayed so composed throughout the entire match. There were parts of the match where her game, her forehand, left her – her biggest shot.

“You never saw any reaction from Barty. She just kept her head down and kept going to work – especially down the stretch. She was the more solid player and it was Svitolina who cracked.”

Barty reflected positively on her success, saying: “To come through a week like this, you have to beat the best of the best. It takes me back to some memories in Miami where I felt I did that for the first time, beating back-to-back Top 10 players, having that really consistent week. I’ve grown and developed so much since that fortnight in Miami. To be able to bounce back after the disappointment after my match with Kiki was really important.”

Looking back, Barty finished the season with the most wins on tour (56), the most Top 10 wins (12) and tied with Pliskova for the most titles won on tour (4). She won titles on every surface. Of the nine biggest titles in women’s tennis, Barty won three of them – Roland Garros (Grand Slam), the Miami Open (Premier Mandatory) and the WTA Finals. She became the first Australian woman ranked No. 1 since Goolagong Cawley in 1976.

Also, Barty became the first player in the 44-year history of the WTA rankings to become year-end World No. 1 after finishing the previous season outside the Top 10. She rose from a 2018 year-end ranking of No. 15 to finish 2019 at No. 1 by playing in just 15 tournaments. Not bad for someone who was ranked No. 315 at the end of 2016 after taking a gap year to leave tennis for professional cricket.

“To be able to call myself the year-end world No. 1 singles player is one of the proudest moments of my career,” said Barty, as quoted by the WTA Tour website. She gave props to her coach, Craig Tyzzer, who has guided her since her return to tennis and leads her support team that includes her mental coach, Ben Crowe. “This achievement is truly a team effort, and I would not be receiving this honor  or had the best season of my life without the people around me who have supported me on this incredible journey.”

With little time to celebrate, it’s back to Australia for Barty, where she will anchor Team Australia in the Fed Cup finals against France this weekend in Perth.

“There’s one more very important week to cap off what would be the most perfect year,” said Barty. “This Fed Cup final is something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time.

“Playing for your country, for myself to play in front of my friends and family, representing Australia, wearing the green and gold. There’s absolutely nothing better.”

Credits: A version of this story originally appeared in Tennis-TourTalk.com. Photo: Courtesy of Ashleigh Barty Twitter page. Videos: Courtesy of YouTube and WTA Tour.

From tennis prodigy to cricket and back again, Ashleigh Barty is now a Grand Slam champion

Ashleigh Barty went from being a tennis prodigy who briefly traded her racquet for a cricket bat to becoming a skilled tennis professional with a solid all-court game. Only 23 years-old, the native of Ipswich, Queensland, is now the queen of the red clay and the pride of Australia.

On Saturday, the affable and talented Barty triumphed over Marketa Vondrousova, 19, from the Czech Republic, 6-1, 6-3, to win her first Grand Slam title at the French Open while playing in her first Grand Slam final. She became the first Australian woman to win the French Open since Margaret Court in 1973.

“For the last fortnight, the stars have aligned for me. I have been able to play really good tennis when I’ve needed it,” said the No. 8 seed Barty during her post-match press conference.

“This is just incredible. I never dreamt that I’d be sitting here with this trophy here at the French Open. I mean, obviously, we have dreams and goals as children, but this is incredible.

“I just kept saying to myself, I may never get this opportunity ever again, so try and grab it with both hands.”

At just 5-feet-5-inches (1.66 m), Barty possesses an abundance of natural skills, lower body strength and tremendous hand-eye coordination. Her overall game is technically sound – and she trusts it. With Barty, her game includes a dynamic kick serve, plenty of topspin forehands, lots of slice, and for an element of surprise, a few timely and well-placed drop shots.

“It’s been a natural progression of becoming stronger, not growing any taller, but getting stronger and being able to trust myself and hit my spots on my serve,” explained Barty.

“My serve is a massive part of my game, and I try and think my way around the court. I know where opponents like to return, and if they shift their position, where they return. And I try and expose those spots as best that I can.”

Ashleigh Barty reacts to winning
her first Grand Slam title.

Throughout the Paris fortnight, it became apparent how Barty developed her talent into a game that’s full of artistry as well as movement and power.

Against the left-handed Vondrousova, whom she had already beaten twice, the beguiling Barty took control of the match early by winning points with her forehand, using her sliced backhand to force her opponent into committing errors (22 unforced errors), and hitting winners (27). Her adroit volley skills enabled her to win 15 of 20 points at the net. It seemed the was little Barty could do wrong.

“I felt like for me it was the perfect tennis match, considering the situation, the conditions. It was amazing,” said Barty.

It’s a testament to what Barty’s done in just three years after taking a gap year to step away from the sport after she struggled with the expectations she had set after being a tennis prodigy and winning the Wimbledon junior girls’ title at age 15. She was ranked in the WTA Top 50 in doubles when she left the sport.

“For me, I needed time to step away, to live a normal life, because this tennis life certainly isn’t normal. I think I needed time to grow as a person, to mature,” recalled Barty.

So, Barty took up professional cricket in Australia in 2015. Then, after missing the “one-on-one battle, the ebbs and flows, the emotions you get from winning and losing matches,” she came back to tennis.

“You can only get them when you are playing and when you put yourself out on the line and you become vulnerable and try and do things that no one thinks of,” said Barty.

“I think it was just a natural progression for me coming back to tennis. Certainly, it’s alway been a big part of my life. Tennis will always be a big part of my life.”

Starting from the bottom, ranked 623rd, she had to qualify just to get into main draws. Now, with her first Grand Slam title secured, she is now ranked No. 2 in the world, behind No. 1 Naomi Osaka. This year, she’s won tournaments on both a hard court (Miami) and clay (Roland Garros), and compiled a 33-6 win-loss record in all competitions (27-5 in WTA tour events).

“It’s about creating your own path, creating your own journey, and embracing it,” expressed Barty. “There’s no formula how to, you know, become a professional tennis player. It’s your own, it’s unique, your own journey, your own path, your own experiences.

“I think the best thing to do is learn from your mistakes, learn from every single experience that you have, whether it’s good or bad. That’s the only way to go about it, only way to grow as a person and as a player.”

Ashleigh Barty shares a hug with
Marketa Vondrousova after their French Open final.

Throughout Australia and the rest of the tennis world, fellow pros offered hardy congratulations via social media for the engaging Barty soon after she won her first Grand Slam championship. She heard from Hall of Fame great Evonne Goolagong Cawley, one of her idols, who like her is an indigenous Australian and won Roland Garros in 1971. Barty was touched when she lifted the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen and saw Cawley’s name inscribed on the trophy.

“What a wonderful result for Australia and how exciting that another Aboriginal has won at the French. I’m almost scared to say it but it’s now 48 years ago since I won my first Slam there too,” Cawley expressed via Tennis Australia.

“Tennis Australia and all lovers of tennis here and around the world will be delighted by the natural skills and flair Ash possesses.”

In sharing her personal narrative during her post-match press conference, Barty admitted that there’s no way she would have won the French Open title if she hadn’t taken a sabbatical from tennis. Now that she’s back, she credits her team – coach Craig Tyzzer and mentor and performance coach Ben Crowe – for helping her thrive.

“I’m not the only person out there. I have an extraordinary group of people around me,” said Barty. “I love working with them every single day. “They’re with me at the hardest times of my life, and there with me in some of the most amazing times. I think, for us, it’s a celebration of the journey we have been on for the last three years.”

Cover photo: courtesy of rolandgarros.com. Screenshot photos: courtesy of NBC Sports images.
An original version of this story appeared in Tennis TourTalk (www.Tennis-TourTalk.com).