Barty shows dark side in new TV commercial

Tennis champion Ash Barty is giving audiences a glimpse of her dark side in a chilling TV commercial set to air during the Australian Open.

Tennis champion Ash Barty has turned to the dark side in a chilling campaign ahead of the Australian Open.

Barty, the world No.1, features in a spinechilling television promotion, and homage to the classic horror film, The Shining, complete with haunted ball girls, and apparitions appearing out of nowhere.

The campaign, premiering on Sunday, is for Uber Eats.

“I do tell them my acting skills are very limited, and (the role) to be as close to natural as I possibly can,” Barty told the Sunday Herald Sun.

“I’m a tennis player, not an actor, and it’s fine to push myself and get out of the comfort zone a little bit. The crew and the team made me feel really welcome, and most of all, we had fun.”

Barty didn’t take lessons, or seek acting advice, for the role.

“I just roll with it, mate,” she said, laughing.

The commercials have alternate endings, which audiences can choose to watch online.

Ash Barty with ghostly ball kids in a new Uber Eats commercial. Picture: Uber Eats.

Barty’s options include The Shining, and a candlelit seance in which former tennis ace Pat Rafter’s ponytail comes back from the dead, only to catch fire.

“It was neat. We asked Pat if he’d be keen,” Barty said.

“I love him as a person, he had a fantastic career, and it was nice to share this experience with him.”

Meanwhile, Barty says she is ready to rock at Melbourne Park.

“I’m feeling good,” she said.

“I’m practising a little bit, keep things pretty light, and we’ll get into it on Monday.”

As Novak Djokovic’s visa woes continue to dominate headlines around the world, Barty says she’s concentrating on her own efforts.

“It’s not something I have an interest in,” Barty said of the saga.

“I haven’t looked at it, I haven’t focused on it.”