The Ash effect

With barely a bead of sweat on her brow, Ash Barty walked off the tennis court in Shenzhen last November and straight into a packed press conference, the eyes of the world’s media trained on her. Minutes earlier she’d proudly held aloft the coveted Billie Jean King Trophy after winning the Women’s Tennis Association Finals, and with it the largest prize cheque awarded to any tennis player in history, male or female. It capped off an extraordinary year for the 23-year-old who won the French Open in June and became the number one female tennis player in the world soon after.

When pressed about how she’d spend the $6.4 million winnings, she shrugged her shoulders and said she’d “probably spoil” her three-year-old niece Lucy and two-year-old nephew Oscar with a new swing set for their Queensland backyard. “I have everything I need,” she said before adding thoughtfully, “Money can’t buy time. The amount of zeros I have in the bank doesn’t change how I’m going to spend my off-season with my family,” a broad smile sweeping across her face at the thought of a cold beer on the back patio of her Mum and Dad’s home in Ipswich. Those closest to her say this is Ash Barty, a Vegemite-loving girl-next-door who is as much at home playing backyard cricket as she is slaying the world’s best on a Grand Slam centre court.

And these genuine qualities have triggered a surge from her home in Queensland, where she is enjoying a few rare quiet days before launching her Australian Open campaign. “It’s a beautiful game and it’s a privilege to play it.”