Barty Inc: Why the retired tennis star has Federer and Jackman covered

Ash Barty’s popularity and commercial appeal knows no bounds, with the former world No.1 tennis ace remaining hot property for sponsors.

The roll call of companies attached to the Barty brand is wide and diverse, from sporting apparel and equipment manufacturers to a major Australian telecommunications provider.

There are no signs corporate Australia is tiring of the Barty party, even though their logos can no longer appear on her playing apparel for global exposure.

The 26-year-old remains No.1 in a measurement of the marketability of athletes in Australia – Barty, interestingly, ranks ahead of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in a tennis-dominated field, with Australian of the Year Dylan Alcott in fourth spot.

A formula which crunches the “likeability” and “awareness” of athletes within the Australian public form the Gemba Group’s “asset power” rankings. On the most recent figures, cricketers Pat Cummins and Steve Smith are in the top 10, while Nick Kyrgios and Sam Kerr are somewhat surprisingly bumped down the list.

Compared to non-sporting talent, Barty retains top billing, sitting ahead of Hollywood superstar Hugh Jackman and music headliners Ed Sheeran and Jessica Mauboy.

Illustrating the ongoing pulling power of athletes in retirements, three of the top four – Barty, Federer and Alcott – have hung up their racquets, while Tim Cahill still makes the top 10 despite retiring almost four years ago.

Barty, who last month was named as a second-time winner The Don Award – given to the athlete deemed to have most inspired the nation – can seemingly do nothing wrong. Her time in Melbourne over the next fortnight will be a celebration of the one-year anniversary of her drought-breaking Australian Open triumph, with her recent pregnancy news to only add to the adoration.

In 2023, it won’t just be impending motherhood that keeps Barty on her toes. Compiling her memoir is behind her, but the Queenslander still has a range of projects in the works, namely the establishment of an academy in partnership with two former coaches, and putting the final touches to her own foundation.

Barty Inc is a pretty big deal. You won’t necessarily see unexpected investment forays into tennis side hustles such as pickleball or padel tennis – different versions of the sport which are fast garnering appeal across the globe – instead all new enterprises will be close to her heart.

And Barty’s oft-discussed love for the simpler life, her desire to be around family and to spend time with her with nieces, was never manufactured. Who else but Vegemite, whose corporate logo was front and centre at Melbourne Park during Barty’s chase of the crown, would you expect to still be associated with her?

When Barty returned to her first-choice sport after a much-needed sojourn after being burnt out by the demands of tennis, she was determined to make decisions that were right for her. And that approach has continued with her foray into the business world that includes the occasional mingling with CEOs.

“I think that was probably a big learning for me, coming back into the sport in 2016,” Barty said.

“It was a really conscious decision that I made that I wanted to be more accountable for all my actions.

“I wanted to have more control in the sense that gave me more purpose, and that desire to do it as I scripted it up, or thought about it, or envisioned it, that extends now to all facets of my life.”

Out of sight, not out of mind: Ash Barty remains extremely popular with the public post-retirement.Credit: Eddie Jim

Hence there’s a children’s book series, with six Little Ash titles currently in the market and more to come. And the academy being brought together in a partnership with Craig Tyzzer, the coach by her side during her three major triumphs, and former Australian player Jason Stoltenberg, an integral figure in her early playing days, will have a heavy emphasis on mentoring local talent.

And, this January, instead of the tough second-week match-ups at the Australian Open that Barty would normally be accustomed to, she’ll instead have a full book of sponsor appearances.

History will show that Barty’s exquisite timing wasn’t restricted to executing crafty cross-court backhand slices. For having solved the puzzle of finding peace and perspective amid the hurly-burly and grind of pro tennis, Barty took full advantage of the relatively small window she had at the top.

Having staged a stunning comeback to the game where she neither sought nor was given special favours, Barty climbed to the world’s top ranking in 2019 as part of a three-year period in which she won three majors on three different surfaces. It must be remembered, too, that COVID-19 interruptions dented her playing options (she didn’t play Wimbledon or Roland Garros in 2020, for example) but, in her time in tennis, she won more than $34 million. That included a $6.4 million payday for winning the 2019 WTA Finals in China, a then-record cheque as the highest individual purse in the sport’s history.

Barty’s pulling power was never restricted to prizemoney, for all tennis starts generate other income. Globally, she’s not in Federer territory, but few athletes are.

Her current list of sponsors is a bit of a cross-section of corporate Australia: sporting apparel and tennis equipment sponsors FILA and Head, telecommunications giant Optus, UKG, Marriott, RADO, Qantas, Vegemite and AIA.

The metrics behind Gemba’s “asset power” generates data from responses to statements such as “they are my favourite + I really like them” and “I don’t know who this person is”. Furthermore, the figures are combined with awareness and likeability results to produce the final results.

In one comparison, Nick Kyrgios has similar awareness numbers to Barty and Federer (but well behind Taylor Swift), but his likeability dips, affecting his overall ranking.

In retirement, Barty is determined to do things her way, and for the right reasons. Asked to spell out her top priorities on the business front, the Queenslander says she’s spreading her workload evenly.

“To be honest, there are plenty of things [I’m doing],” Barty said. “There are plenty of things that interest me and I think, in a way, it’s not about having priorities, it’s about finding passions.”

Establishing the academy will have her imprimatur. Australian youngster Olivia Gadecki, already an Billie Jean King Cup representative, is among those already under the watchful Barty eye.

“I think working with [and] being able to give back to Australian tennis, particularly some of the juniors, is something that really interests me, is a passion [of mine],” Barty said.

Ash Barty with her hero Evonne Goolagong Cawley at the recent Newcombe Medal dinner.Credit: Getty Images

The academy remains a work in progress – establishing its precise framework is ongoing, as is determining how and where its sits in the existing Tennis Australia ecosystem.

“We’re still getting that right, we’re still figuring out how that’s going to look and how that’s going to be really effective and impactful, more than anything,” Barty said.

“[I’m] enjoying the process, really. It’s something that we all want to make sure we get right.

“It’s obviously an exciting month coming up with the Australian summer. We kind of want to make sure that that’s right and we’re all happy and ready to go and obviously some of the athletes are ready as well.

“But [my various passions] have all kind of stemmed from the same passion of growing the sport and bringing other people into having a happier and healthier life, I suppose, and seeing what sport can do for you.”

That Optus came on board for Barty after her retirement announcement is a sure sign that the sponsors will have Barty on their wish lists for some time yet. Barty is the company’s “chief inspiration officer”, joining Formula 1’s Daniel Ricciardo, “chief optimism officer”, on the Optus payroll.

Showing that nothing in life can be taken for granted, Optus came under intense scrutiny as one of the first big Australian companies to feel the brunt of corporate hacking. Suddenly, optimism was in short supply.

While Barty didn’t overstep her position, she confirmed she was on call to the company.

“I don’t know about the tech space, honestly. That’s not my area of expertise and that’s not the reason why we started a relationship with Optus,” she says.

“[But] we definitely touched base,” she said. “I wanted to lend a voice and a hand. It was obviously a very, very tough time.”

Barty has a Gemba “asset power score” of 4931, comfortably ahead of Federer (4089), Nadal (3345) and Alcott (2588). Interestingly, compared to other high-profile names, Barty has top billing ahead of Hugh Jackman (4412), Ed Sheeran (3246) and Jessica Mauboy (2620).

For Barty herself, it’s not about the numbers. It never was. But now the bigger question might just be which baby goods manufacturer signs her up first.

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