Ash Barty returns to scene of maiden Australian title in Adelaide next week

An opportunity to compete on home soil proved too attractive to turn down for Ash Barty, with the world No 1 headlining the field of a WTA Tour event in Adelaide next week.

Ash Barty, pictured with Simona Halep after an exhibition at Memorial Drive in January, will return to Adelaide to headline a WTA event next week. Picture: Getty Images

Ash Barty will bookend a lucrative Australian summer in Adelaide after taking a wildcard into a WTA Tour event being held at Memorial Drive next week.

The Queenslander, who was beaten in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open on Tuesday, has decided another opportunity to compete on home soil in uncertain times is a chance too good to refuse.

The Australian will be the top seed in the $690,000 WTA 500 event that has drawn a strong field with several of the world’s leading women heading to South Australia.

Barty claimed her maiden title on home soil at Memorial Drive last year on her first visit to the state as a tennis player.

The 24-year-old, who has earned more than $600,000 this summer, returned to compete in the star-studded exhibition event in Adelaide last month that launched the Australian summer.

Her three-set outing against world No 2 Simona Halep provided the perfect opportunity for the Australian to hone her game after almost a year away from the tour due to COVID-19.

The right-hander won a WTA tournament in Melbourne on her return to the tour when she defeated dual-major winner Garbine Muguruza in the final in the first week of February.

The nine-time WTA Tour titleist subsequently performed well during the Australian Open until the quarter-final, where her best form deserted her from early in the second set against Czech Karolina Muchova.

The top-ranked woman said this week she is still planning to head to the Middle East for events in Doha and Dubai in March, with a prolonged international trip a possibility.

Barty opted out of travelling to America and Europe when the tour resumed in order to protect her health and that of her team as the pandemic worsened.

The safety protocols that have been put in place by the tours to minimise the risks associated with the virus have tempered the concerns of the world No 1 to a degree.

“It’s a tricky one because I think the health of my team and myself will always be the priority, no matter what,” she said.

“In a way, there is no nervousness, because I feel like we’ll make the right decisions that are kind of the best for us. We’ll make the right decisions for the right reasons.

“That kind of takes away any of the nerves or concerns, knowing that we can put full trust in, if we travel, when we travel, about the right health guidelines we (have) put in place.”

The experience of the past month which has included snap lockdowns in different states, including the five-day circuit breaker in Melbourne, had raised some concerns about the event.

But players and coaches were granted exemptions to travel to Adelaide, though they will effectively be in a bubble throughout the event. Several Australians arrived in the city on Thursday for the tournament.

Yulia Putintseva, who complained throughout a strict quarantine stint in Melbourne about a mouse in her hotel room, was among players who opted to drive to South Australia instead of flying.