Aussie champion keeps postal service busy with special home deliveries

World No 1 Ash Barty has been tested on the courts since her return to the circuit but also challenged away from it in figuring out what to do with the trophies she keeps winning

Ash Barty with the Miami Open trophy, which has been sent home to mum and dad

The post office in the Brisbane suburb where Ash Barty’s parents live has been on notice for weeks.

Ever since their famous daughter went abroad again, packages from the world No 1 have been returning steadily for her parents Rob and Josie Barty.

Each has been expensive. And they undoubtedly arrive with the same message: Fragile — please treat with care.

Since travelling to the US in late March, the Australian has been tested on the court and also challenged away from it with what to do with the trophies she keeps winning.

There was an expensive crystal vase for winning the Miami Open for the second time. Last week there was the silver plate awarded to the beaten finalist in Madrid.

In Stuttgart, where she claimed both the singles and the doubles, Barty was awarded with grey cylinders to go with the two green Porsches she won in the event.

It is unclear whether there is enough room in her parents’ garage to store them, though one imagines they would be happy to make the space.

As the Queenslander said from Rome, where she is the top seed for the Italian Open, she is at least keeping her parents on their toes.

“I mean, I’m very lucky to be in a position in the last few weeks where we have been playing for titles and it’s been really exciting,” she said.

“Thankfully we are able to ship those home, which are a nice surprise on mum and dad’s doorstep.”

Barty will open her campaign in Italy with a doubles encounter alongside Jennifer Brady, the Australian Open semi-finalist who she partnered to the recent success in Stuttgart.

A clear leader in the WTA Tour’s points race for 2021, the 25-year-old will play the winner of a clash between Martina Trevisan and Yaroslava Shvedova in the second round in Rome.

The Italian Open serves as the final major lead-in tournament for the French Open, with Barty returning to Roland Garros for the first time since her success in Paris in 2019.

The Brisbane resident has scarcely missed a week since returning to the tour after last year’s sabbatical due to COVID-19, but said she is feeling motivated by the challenge.

“I think scheduling, for probably the last four or five years of my career, has always been something that I have tried to stick to. I like to commit to tournaments. I like to play those tournaments,” she said.

“At times we have had periods where we have gone back-to-back-to-back in tournaments, but this stretch has certainly been pretty full-on and really exciting. (It’s) been really nice just to play matches again.

“I think getting into the swing of things, (getting) used to playing week after week is important. Mentally and physically I feel good.”

The landscape is also changing in Europe for tennis players. While the pandemic remains a threat, Barty is among the players who have been vaccinated against the virus, having received her jab in South Carolina.

The ATP Tour is beginning to loosen restrictions related to the bubble environment players have competed in for months and the women’s tour is expected to follow suit.

After her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in the Madrid Open final on Sunday, Barty and coach Craig Tyzzer headed to the hotel bar for a burger and a beer.

But it seems likely a return to favoured restaurants in coming weeks will be possible for everyone on the tour who has been vaccinated, though it will vary between countries.

“I haven’t seen what they released, but I have heard whispers that they were going to relax their bubble and such,” she said.

“But for me, I know they’re chatting to our player council and chatting to everyone about those decisions, because I think each tournament we go to, each country we go to, they have different rules and regulations.

“I think for the WTA, they have put in their rules and regulations which we abide by, and then for each tournament it’s … about keeping everyone safe, keeping everyone healthy and abiding by the rules to whatever place we are in and whatever city we are in.

“I think for me it’s more about doing the right thing for the right reasons and then knowing that we’ve got an opportunity to play tennis. I’m very grateful for that, so I think we need to continue to do the right things and keep everyone safe and healthy.”