’Hideous’ Ash Barty development rocks tennis: ’An absolute bin fire’

Ash Barty insists she won’t be the solution to a glaring problem that has never looked worse than at this year’s Australian Open.

The women’s game is still reeling. (Photo by MICHAEL ERREY / AFP)

We’re approaching the pointy end of this year’s Australian Open and it’s quiz time — without looking it up, see if you can name the four quarterfinalists in the top half of the women’s draw.

If you successfully answered Linda Noskova, Dayana Yastremska, Anna Kalinskaya and Zheng Qinwen, consider giving Channel 9 a call and asking for a commentary gig. Because you probably already know more about women’s tennis than John McEnroe.

If those four names escaped you, join the club. Barely anyone outside true tennis fanatics had reason to pay attention to any of these four players until they lined up against each other on Wednesday at Melbourne Park.

And the bottom half of the draw – while featuring top 10 seeds Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff and Barbora Krejcikova — wasn’t much better.

Sabalenka, the defending champion, has enjoyed a cake walk through the tournament, not dropping a set or losing more than five games total in any of her matches.

She’ll now play a semi against reigning US Open champion Gauff, whose path to the final four could not have been softer.

This being your draw to make a slam semifinal…genuinely does not get easier than this. pic.twitter.com/mlFcFTwJyb

— Tom Jones 🏳️‍🌈 🇺🇦 (@JomTones12) January 23, 2024

It’s not just the quality of opposition that has been alarming, it’s the quality of tennis too.

Gauff’s quarterfinal win against Marta Kostyuk on Tuesday was an eye sore.

Tennis podcaster Catherine Whittaker described it as “an absolute bin fire of a match”.

“Is that OK to say? I could not take my eyes off it … but it was hideous right?”

Fellow tennis commentator Matt Roberts called it a “hot mess” and David Law said he “wanted to hide my eyes”.

Tennis journalist Jose Morgado described the early action as “honestly one of the worst sets I’ve watched in a long, long time”. “And this is a Slam QF,” he added.

Coco Gauff survived an “absolute bin fire” of a match. (Photo by Martin KEEP / AFP)

It must be making tournament organisers – and tennis fans – long for the days of Ash Barty.

There’s been an ugly development since the Aussie favourite made four consecutive quarterfinals in her home tournament, including a historic win in 2022.

The women’s draw has been devoid of recognisable names and scratching for decent storylines.

Sabalenka broke through for her first grand slam title last year and had to do it in a final against a top level opponent in Elena Rybakina. But it was a pretty forgettable tournament.

And this year, apart from 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva’s delightful run to the fourth round, there’s been few moments of magic.

Without Barty and Serena Williams, two-time winner Naomi Osaka was probably the most famous face but she was nowhere near ready to compete and gone in the blink of an eye.

All the locals were out by the third round and world number one Iga Swiatek wasted a golden opportunity to finally connect with Aussie fans when she was knocked out early by Noskova.

Come back, Ash. (Photo by MICHAEL ERREY / AFP)

The top women in the game have found it impossible to match the consistency of their counterparts in the men’s top 10.

It might be frustrating to see the likes of Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev and Andrey Rublev continue to fall short but at least they can be relied upon to beat the players they should more often than not.

Rublev is 0-10 in Grand Slam quarterfinals. The rank of his opponents:
1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 23, 26

Sabalenka is 8-0 in Grand Slam quarterfinals. The rank of her opponents:
9, 11, 18, 22, 23, 24, 64, 192

— Oleg S. (@AnnaK_4ever) January 23, 2024

Taylor Fritz was the lowest-ranked men’s player to make the final eight, where he was joined by top six seeds Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Medvedev, Jannik Sinner, Rublev and Zverev – and ninth seed Hubert Hurkacz.

That’s the kind of consistency that helps fans connect to a sport that’s only in the spotlight for a few weeks each year.

Roger Federer’s retirement and injuries to Rafael Nadal and Nick Kyrgios has robbed the men’s draw of its true needle-movers.

But Djokovic’s refusal to let go of his stranglehold on the tournament and the arrival of Alcaraz and Sinner as legitimate challengers provides a level of excitement the women’s game can only dream of.

And unless Barty comes back, it’s hard to see it changing anytime soon.

Originally published as ’Hideous’ Ash Barty development rocks tennis: ’An absolute bin fire’