The Barty Party

Ash Barty was playing in her first tennis final in Paris on Saturday night our time. We recorded it to watch later and even though we heard that she had won, we took our breakfast and sat in front of the TV.

I met Ashleigh a few years ago at a Federation cup, at the time I didnt realise she was only 17.  She announced just after that that she was retiring from tennis. She had been on tour for some time, won Wimbledon as a junior but being away from home and family was too stressful for her.

A great sports person she then played professional cricket for Queensland for the next two years. A friend, also a tennis player asked her to play doubles in a tournament. Ash discovered her love of tennis again and returned to professional tennis aged nineteen. Three years later, she won the French Open on the weekend and has now gone to number two in the world. Not bad for a kid from Ipswich.

Ash getting ready to serve. Looking forward to seeing how she goes at Wimbledon