Ashleigh Barty

Personal life

Barty was born and raised in Ipswich, Queensland to an Indigenous Australian (Ngarigo) father Robert and a second generation English mother, Josie. She has two older sisters, Ali and Sara. She is a keen supporter of the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League.

Junior career

Playing her first singles events on the ITF junior tour in 2009, she reached the second round at the Waikato Bays ITF and the New Zealand 18 & Under Indoor Championships. Barty had a successful year on the tour in 2010 where she reached the final of her next five tournaments she played in. These included the Australian International Grade 4, Gallipoli Youth Tennis Cup, Queensland Junior ITF International 1, 2010 Junior Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Final and the Yonex LTAT- ITF Junior Grade 2 where she didn't lose a set through qualifying and maindraw. This gave her a record of 30 wins to one loss before losing in the second round of the Seogwipo Asian/Oceania Closed Championships. Barty started 2011 by reaching the second round of the Loy Yang Traralgon International and losing in the first round of her first Grand Slam match at the 2011 Australian Open to third seed Lauren Davis. She also lost in the first round of the doubles.

Barty then won the Grade 1 event, the 17th Sarawak Chief Minister's Cup where she won both the singles and doubles events. After early losses at the 22nd Mitsubishi-Lancer International Juniors Championships, Barty again won both singles and doubles events at the 47th Astrid Bowl Charleroi, Belgian International Junior Championships. Her singles title included wins over Aliaksandra Sasnovich, Victoria Kan and Victoria Duval in the final. After coming through a close three set opening round win over twelfth seed Ganna Poznikhirenko, Barty lost in the second round to Anett Kontaveit at the 2011 French Open. She lost in the quarterfinals of the doubles with Victoria Duval. Barty had two early singles losses in her next tournaments, however she did win a doubles title in the later with Ons Jabeur at the AEGON Junior International – Roehampton. At the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, Barty won her first Grand Slam title after defeating wildcard Lucy Brown, qualifier Katharina Lehnert, Madison Keys, Victoria Duval, Indy de Vroome and a straight sets win over Irina Khromacheva in the final. She also reached the quarterfinals of the doubles with Miho Kowase.

After losing in the third round of singles, Barty won the doubles title at the Canadian Open Junior Championships with Doménica González. At the 2011 US Open Barty reached the semi-finals where she lost to top seed Caroline Garcia in straight sets. She lost in the second round of doubles with Doménica González. Barty finished 2011 by winning all 5 singles and three doubles match she played at the 2011 Junior Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Final. Barty only playted one junior tournament in 2012 which would be her final one. This was at the 34 Torneo International "Citta Di Santa Croce" Mauro Sabatini, where she lost in both the singles and doubles finals partnering Storm Sanders.

Barty reached a career high ITF Junior ranking of number two. She had a singles record of 68 wins to 3 losses and a doubles record of 42 wins to 12 losses.

2010–2011: Professional tour debut

Barty started her professional career in April 2010 just after turning 15 in a $25,000 ITF event in Ipswich where she lost in the first round in straight sets to Karolina Wlodarczak. In just her second professional event she reached a semi-final of a $25,000 event in Mount Gambier which included wins over Ayu Fani Damayanti, Arina Rodionova and Sophie Letcher. She lost in the semi-final against Ana Clara Duarte in straight sets. Barty lost in the second and first round of qualifying in $25,000 events in Traralgon and Bendigo to end her year.

Barty started 2011 at a $25,000 ITF event in Mildura where she lost in the quarterfinals to Gail Brodsky in three sets. She then followed up this result with another quarterfinal in a $25,000 event in Sydney after qualifying. She lost against Rika Fujiwara in straight sets. Her final ITF event of the year was a $25,000 event in Bundaberg where she lost in the first round against Zuzana Zlochová after qualiftying. Barty was awarded a wildcard into qualifying at the 2011 US Open by Tennis Australia after her success at Junior Wimbledon. She lost in the first round against Julia Glushko in straight sets. In December 2011, she competed with other Australian players for a wildcard berth into the main draw of the 2012 Australian Open, and despite being the youngest player in the draw, she won the competition and the wildcard, beating established players including Casey Dellacqua, Arina Rodionova and Olivia Rogowska in the process. Barty ended 2011 with a singles ranking of number 669 in the world.

2012: Entering the top 200

Due to her strong results at the end 2011, Barty received a wildcard into the qualifying event of the Brisbane International (a WTA Premier tournament). There she lost in the first round to number one seed Vania King. Partnered with Casey Dellacqua, Barty also received a wildcard into the doubles tournament, reaching the semi-finals before bowing out to the American pairing of Spears and Kops-Jones. Barty then received a wildcard into the Hobart International, losing in the first round to Bethanie Mattek-Sands. Due to winning the Australian Open Wildcard Playoff, Barty was awarded a Wildcard into the women's singles at the 2012 Australian Open, where she lost to Anna Tatishvili in the first round. She also entered the women's and mixed doubles, pairing up with Laura Robson and Benjamin Mitchell respectively. Barty and her respective partners failed to make it past the first round in either event. In February, Barty won her first senior title at the Sydney $25,000 ITF tournament on hard courts, beating countrywoman Olivia Rogowska in the final. The following week she won her second straight ITF title at the Mildura Grand International on grass courts, beating countrywomen Viktorija Rajicic in the final. The following week she participated in the ITF event in Ipswich on clay courts, losing to Pole Sandra Zaniewska in the final.

In May, after playing junior events across Europe, Barty received a wildcard into the main draw at the French Open, where she was defeated in the first round by fourth seed and eventual semi-finalist Petra Kvitová. Barty then rebounded on the grass courts, winning the biggest title of her career to date at the $50,000 ITF event at Nottingham, beating Tatjana Malek in the final, as well as winning the doubles title with Sally Peers. Following her victory, Barty's qualifying draw Wildcard at Wimbledon (earned for winning the 2011 Junior event) was improved to a main draw Wildcard, losing in the first round to Roberta Vinci.

Barty then returned to Australia to play $25,000 ITF events. The first was in Esperance where she made the final, losing to countrywoman Olivia Rogowska. A few weeks later Barty won the Traralgon event, defeating Arina Rodionova in the final. Rodionova got her revenge on Barty the next week in Bendigo defeating her in the semi-final. Barty played her final ITF event of the year in Japan which was a $75,000 event. She lost in the Quarterfinals. Barty was shocked in the second round of the Australian Open Wildcard Playoff by Bojana Bobusic. Barty finished 2012 ranked number 195 in singles and number 172 in doubles.

2013: Doubles success

Barty started her 2013 season in Perth, partnering Bernard Tomic at the Hopman Cup after Casey Dellacqua had to withdraw with a foot injury. Following a win over Andrea Petkovic who retired hurt and a comprehensive loss to Ana Ivanovic, Barty scored the biggest victory of her career in Perth, defeating former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone 6–0 6–3 in just 55 minutes.

Barty received a wildcard into the 2013 Moorilla Hobart International where she drew defending champion Mona Barthel. After winning the first set, Barty only won one more game in the match. In the doubles event, Barty partnered Bojana Bobusic and reached her second WTA doubles semi-final.

Barty drew Slovakian 15th seed Dominika Cibulková in the first round of the 2013 Australian Open. However, after a promising start to the match by taking the opening set, she lost the next two sets with the win of just one game. In the doubles event, Barty partnered countrywoman Casey Dellacqua. They opened the tournament by cruising past Francesca Schiavone and Polona Hercog in straight sets. This win was Barty's first ever Grand Slam victory. They then stunned the third seeded team of Maria Kirilenko and Lisa Raymond and 14th seeded team of Natalie Grandin and Vladimíra Uhlířová en route to the Quarterfinals. The duo then reached the semi-final by defeating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Lucie Šafářová. Their semi-final was played on Rod Laver Arena, which was Barty's first match on the court. Barty and Dellacqua made the final by defeating Zheng Saisai and Varvara Lepchenko in two sets and became the first Australian duo to reach the women's doubles final of the Australian open since 1977. They played top seeds Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci in the final. They dropped the opening set 6–2 in just 29 minutes. But gained composure in the second to take it 6–3. The Italians won the third set and the match. Errani and Vinci took home the title after being defeated the previous year.

In her next tournament, Barty won her first WTA main draw singles match at the 2013 Malaysian Open defeating Chanel Simmonds in the first round. Barty then reached the quarterfinal by defeating qualifier Zarina Diyas. She lost to world number 29 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the quarterfinal.

Barty then travelled to USA playing a series of ITF tournaments and the WTA tournament in Charleston. She had limited success in singles with her best result being a semi-final finish in the $25,000 ITF tournament in Pelham. In doubles, however, she continued to perform well, reaching a WTA semi-final in Charleston with (w/Anastasia Rodionova) which meant she had reached the semi-finals in all three WTA doubles tournaments she had entered. She also won ITF titles in Pelham (w/ Arina Rodionova) and Innisbrook (w/ Alize Lim).

Tennis Australia awarded Barty a wildcard into the 2013 French Open. She scored her first grand slam singles victory by defeating the Czech Republic's Lucie Hradecká in the first round. She had previously failed to win a match in five grand slam tournaments. She subsequently played World No. 12 Maria Kirilenko in the second round. Barty had made an encouraging start to the match, however with scores locked at 3–3, rain forced play to be suspended for the day. She was blown away when play resumed on day six, winning just one more game in the match.

Barty opened her Grass court season at the 2013 Aegon Classic in Birmingham. She lost the first round in qualifying against Nadiia Kichenok. However, in the doubles with Casey Dellacqua they reached the final. The third seeds defeated Cara Black and Marina Erakovic in the final in straight sets. This was Barty's first WTA title and Dellacqua's second. After losing in the first round of qualifying at Wimbledon, Barty and Dellacqua recorded three straight sets win to reach the quarterfinals of the Women's Doubles which included defeating fifth seeds Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears. In the quarterfinals they upset second seeds Andrea Hlaváčková and Lucie Hradecká. They reached their second Grand Slam final of the year after taking down seventh seeds Anna-Lena Grönefeld and Květa Peschke. Barty and Dellacqua were defeated in the final by eighth seeds Su-Wei Hsieh and Peng Shuai.

Tennis Australia awarded Barty a wildcard into the US Open due to her excellent results in 2013. She opened the tournament with a win over Estrella Cabeza Candella in straight sets. Barty lost in the second round in straight sets to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Barty again partnerd with Casey Dellacqua for the women's doubles as the eighth seeds. Barty and Dellacqua won through to the final without the loss of a set. This included wins over ninth seeds Liezel Huber and Nuria Llagostera Vives, second seeds Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina, and tenth seeds Sania Mirza and Zheng Jie. In the final they went down in three sets against fifth seeds Andrea Hlaváčková and Lucie Hradecká. Barty ended the year ranked 164 in singles and 12 in doubles.

2014: Break from tennis

Barty started her 2014 season in qualifying at the 2014 Brisbane International after receiving a wildcard. She reached the main draw, where she upset former world number five Daniela Hantuchová in the first round. She was due to play former world number one Maria Sharapova in the next round, however, she withdrew from the tournament due to a left adductor injury. On 8 January, Barty was awarded a wild card into the 2014 Australian Open. Barty was beaten in the first round by Serena Williams in straight sets. Barty and Women's Doubles partner, Casey Dellacqua, were beaten in the second round by Hungary's Tímea Babos and Croatian Petra Martić. At Wimbledon, Barty lost in the final round of qualifying, in a close three set match against Anett Kontaveit. In September, Barty announced that she is 'taking a break' from tennis.

2016: Return to tennis

Barty announced her return to professional tennis in February. Barty competed in doubles only and in five events across Australia in the ITF circuit, winning three of them, including her first tournament back where she partnered Jessica Moore.

In May, Barty qualified for and reached the semi-finals of Eastbourne ITF and continued her good form into June,where she qualified for and made the quarter-final in Nottingham. She lost in two tie-breakers to eventual champion and number 1 seed Karolína Plíšková. At Wimbledon, Barty received a wildcard into qualifying and lost in the second round.

Barty didn't play again until November where she qualified and reached the quarter final of the Taipei Challenger. Barty ended the 2016 season with a ranking of 271.

2017: First WTA title and French Open doubles final

Barty began the season at the 2017 Brisbane International where she defeated Aleksandra Krunić in straight sets. She then faced the world No. 1 Angelique Kerber and lost in three sets. Barty then received a wildcard into the 2017 Australian Open where she defeated Annika Beck in straight sets, marking her first victory at the slam. She beat Shelby Rogers in straight sets then lost to Mona Barthel in the third round in three sets. Barty also competed in the doubles where she teamed with Casey Dellacqua once more. They made it to the quarter finals, losing to top seeds Kristina Mladenovic and Caroline Garcia.

During Australia's Fed Cup World Group II tie against Ukraine, Barty pushed world No. 13 Elina Svitolina to three sets.

In Malaysia, Barty qualified for the main draw and went on to make the final, where she defeated Nao Hibino in straight sets for her first WTA Tour title. She also won the doubles title with Casey Dellacqua. Afterwards, she entered the top 100 of the WTA Rankings for the first time in singles at world No. 92. She received a wildcard for the Miami Open and defeated former world No. 5 Eugenie Bouchard but lost to compatriot and fourteenth seed Samantha Stosur in the second round.

After losing to Jelena Ostapenko in the final round of qualifying in Rome, Barty qualified and progressed to the quarterfinal round in Strasbourg where she lost to compatriot and seventh seed Daria Gavrilova in three sets. She would go on to win the doubles title with Dellacqua however, with a straight sets win over the top seeded Chan sisters. Barty's clay court season ended with a first round loss to twelfth seed Madison Keys and a maiden appearance in the French Open doubles final alongside Dellacqua.

Fed Cup

Barty was chosen to represent the Australia Fed Cup team for the first time in 2013. She was just 16 years old. This meant Barty was the youngest Australian Fed Cup player since Jelena Dokic in 1998. The tie was a World Group First Round match against the Czech Republic. Barty and Casey Dellacqua lost the doubles rubber. Barty's next Fed Cup tie was against Switzerland in a World Group Play-Off. Barty played her first singles match in Fed Cup where she defeated Stefanie Vögele in straight sets.

Playing style

Barty possesses an all-court game and is suited to play on all surfaces, Her first serve is either flat or slice and her second serve is generally a kick serve. Her biggest weapon is her forehand from which she can generate angles with pace and spin. Her variety is also her strength and she can play any shot in the book (slices, drop shots, lobs etc.).

Barty's game has been likened to former world number one and five-time grand slam tournament winner Martina Hingis for her small size and array of shots.

Cricket

In July 2015, Barty started training with the Queensland Fire, Queensland's women's cricket team, after discussions with the team's coach, Andy Richards. After a successful start to her cricket career in the Brisbane women's premier competition, which included scoring 63 and taking 2-14 in her second game, Barty was signed by the Brisbane Heat to be part of their squad for the inaugural Women's Big Bash League. She made her debut in the Women's Big Bash League on December 5, 2015 against the Melbourne Stars hitting 39 off 27 balls batting at number 6 and has been a regular part of the team.

In grade cricket for 2015-16 season, Barty averaged 46.60 runs in the Katherine Raymont Shield for Western Suburbs District Cricket Club with a top score of 107. With the ball she averaged 18.75 taking 8 wickets. Her team won the grand final against Sandgate - Redcliffe.