Ashleigh Barty: ‘What I’m on this planet to do’

Ash Barty knows what she’s meant to do with her life. It’s not what you think.

World No.1 tennis player Ash Barty is delighted to be back on court and sharing her stories. Picture: James Giles / Vogue Australia

Ash Barty has it all. The Wimbledon trophy. The world No.1 ranking. A few quid in the bank. A nice bloke on her arm. But nothing in Barty’s possession is more valuable than this – her belief in why she’s here.

“I genuinely think that’s what I was put on this planet to do, to try and share my stories and help the young, all through the nation, in discovering what they want,” she says in the countdown to the Australian Open.

Novak Djokovic can come, go, win his legal battle, get bundled out in straight sets by a Melbourne court and be plonked on the first plane home for all it really matters to the Australian Open. The No.1 men’s player in the world will be Sideshow Bob compared with the No.1 women’s player at Melbourne Park. Barty’s the headline act by the length of the Yarra River. If there’s a more popular athlete in Australia, I cannot think of one, notwithstanding Pat Cummins’ efforts in baggy green cap.

She’s making a hot start to the year. She beat former Open champion Sofia Kenin in two swift sets on Friday to reach the semi-finals of the Adelaide International after four months away from the tour because her heart told her to get home to Queensland: her three dogs in Brisbane, her future husband, Garry Kissick, and the delights of the small things like a local supermarket.

“To flick the switch and really start training and preparing with my team … (the Australian Open) is absolute chaos, but it’s organised chaos, chaotic happiness, and it just screams energy. I can’t wait to feel that again,” she says in an interview for a special edition Vogue Australia.

“Having played much of last year behind closed doors in a sense of not being able to connect with the fans or being able to enjoy it with them, I hope that this year in Australia we have that. Because that’s the very best part.”

Barty likes the quiet life. Which isn’t exactly what she’ll be getting this month. During her hiatus, she said, “It feels normal, which is really heartwarming, knowing no matter where you go or what you do, home is where the heart is. Once you do get here, I am just the best version of myself again.

“I’m enjoying the time now that’s personal to me, reconnecting with my loved ones and almost reconnecting with what life’s all about, and not having the professional side of my life interfering at the moment. It’s just nice to take stock and train a little bit but certainly prioritise the things that matter most to me.”

I’ve seen her practice sessions in Melbourne. There’s always more kids than adults. More of the people she wants to share her stories with and inspire. A whole lot of those kids cannot wait to see her let rip at the Open. “I can’t wait to get out there,” she says.

Read the full story in Vogue Australia, on sale on now.