Barty’s fighting spirit earns nation’s respect

On the back of a dream 2019, the World No 1 has been nominated for the award.

Ashleigh Barty plays a backhand during the women's singles at The Roland Garros 2019 French Open tennis tournament in Paris. Picture: AFP

Few Australian success stories can match tennis world No 1 Ash Barty. The 23-year-old has had a phenomenal 12 months, her French Open win in June captivating Australians who had not seen a grand slam singles cham­pion from their country since 2011.

It is for her stellar success that she has been nominated for this newspaper’s Australian of the Year award.

The Queenslander began playing tennis at the age of four and had a promising junior ­career, reaching the world No 2 ranking after taking out the girls’ singles title at Wimbledon in 2011.

As a teenager, Barty had early success in doubles, finishing runner-up at three grand slam events with veteran Casey Dellacqua, ­including at the Australian Open when she was 16.

App users tap here to nominate your Australian of the Year

Then Barty decided to take a break from professional tennis in 2014 and took up cricket, playing for Brisbane Heat in their Big Bash side, before returning to ­tennis early in 2016.

She had a successful year in singles in 2017, winning her first WTA title at the Malaysian Open and rising to world No 17.

She also had another prolific year in doubles, reaching the WTA finals with Dellacqua.

This year she won her first major, the French Open, and also took out the WTA finals in China, seeing her end the year with $16m and world No 1 status.

Barty will step out as the top seed in the Australian Open next month as she seeks to end a local drought dating from Chris O’Neil’s success in 1978. Mark ­Edmondson was the last Australian man to triumph, in 1976.

Barty told The Australian this month she planned to “give it her all”. “There shouldn’t be any ­assumptions. There are no certainties in sport and I think that is the beauty of sport,” Barty said.

“Anyone can be beaten on any given day and it is about preparing and doing the best you can on that day. I can’t wait to play in front of an Aussie crowd again and go out there and give it my all. The Aussie public loves it when Aussie players come out and just give it a crack. That is what I can promise.’’

We encourage readers to submit a nomination for The Australian’s Australian Of The Year. Prominent Australians can be nominated by filling out the coupon below or sending an email to [e-mail] or going to our website, theaustralian.com.au. Nominations close on Thursday, January 23.