Ash Barty forced out with injury

Injury forces Ash Barty out of Eastbourne International but she insists she’lll play at Wimbledon.

Ash Barty plays a forehand shot during her final round match against Julia Goerges of Germany. Picture: Getty

Ash Barty’s coach Craig Tyzzer has reassured the tennis community that Australia’s tennis world number one has withdrawn from the Eastbourne International this week as a “sensible’’ precaution after suffering a stress injury.

Tyzzer said if Barty had played this week, then Wimbledon, which starts on July 1, would not have been a viable option.

Just hours after being ranked at the top of the women’s game, Barty revealed she has a bone stress in her right arm that gets inflamed with too much serving.

The 23-year-old reluctantly withdrew from the weeklong grass competition at Eastbourne, describing the condition as “painful’’ but insisting she has been managing it since she was 16 years old.

Barty confided that sometimes she is able to play through matches with her sore arm, but on this occasion it had “tipped over the edge’’ and needed management. She said at this stage it just needed rest, but she could take medication if it persisted.

Barty won’t get back on the court until Thursday at the earliest, and will enjoy watching Australia’s cricket team play England at Lord’s cricket ground today — either in person, or relaxing in front of the television in her rented house near Wimbledon.

She said: ’’It’s an injury I have managed since I was 16 and when I have a spike in load it comes up: it is a bone stress injury I need to look after it, especially in the first few days (of it occuring). Its important to get on top of it.’’

‘’It will be fine,’’ she said, adding: “I will manage it carefully over the next few days, to make sure I am ready to go next week.’’

Barty said she was pain-free during the French Open, partly because the day on day off schedule helped with recovery between matches.

“There are weeks I have played with it through the pain and there are weeks when we have to step back and manage it properly,’’ she said.

During the Birmingham Classic last week she withdrew mid tournament from the doubles to help protect her arm and allow her to concentrate on the singles title, which she won by beating close friend Julia Goerges, of Germany in straight sets in the final.

Barty has yet to decide if she will play doubles at Wimbledon but expressed confidence that all will be well.

But Tyzzer revealed that when Barty returned to tennis after a two year lay off in 2016 her arm blew up to such an extent she was sidelined for a month.

“It’s the loads, we have to monitor it,’’Tyzzer said.

“If she had played a lot of tennis this week then maybe Wimbledon is not a viable option. so it’s being sensible.’’

Tyzzer said that back in 2016 Barty played Eastbourne and then Nottingham — performing through the rounds much better than anticipated.

“Her arm blew up, just from the sheer volume of tennis balls that she was hitting … it is so different when playing matches and the serving loads are different. So then she was out and she had to take a month off.’’

Tyzzer said Barty endured a “flogging’’ for 12 weeks back in 2016 to get herself into physical condition when she told him she wanted to return to tennis.

He said: “She wanted to get back and play, she missed tennis, we went straight into a 12 week training bloc. She had done zero fitness in the time she was off, so I said, ‘this will be a big test to see if you want it’, because it’s 12 weeks in Melbourne, solid (training) every day and she took it all in her stride.

“As soon as we were through the first week — and she was exhausted — I could see she was deadly serious about it.’’

Barty said the last few days have been a whirlwind.

“It is a little bit mind boggling to me,’’ she said of the reaction to her recent wins.

“I am still in a bit of disbelief and speechless where we are at.’’

Tyzzer said Barty is a smart and intuitive tennis player, but when he first started coaching her when she was 16 she struggled and felt overawed.

“She didn’t handle a lot of stuff that comes with tennis, which we expect a 17 or 16 year old to handle, to sit in front of media and television (interviewers) and assume they can do it and Ash just wasn’t capable,’’ he said.

But now she concentrates on the process and goes through the same routines before every match and tournament.

“She has exceeded our expectations,’’ said Tyzzer, confirming that they had targeted the top 10 for this year.

“Ash is really grounded. I wasn’t sure how she would be after the French Open and how last week would go, but it is straight back to the same process. It wasn’t any different to any other tournament, she just went though the same process, same analysis. Obviously the goal for her now will be to stay number one.’’

Barty revealed she would dearly love to go and play golf with her boyfriend Garry Kissick, a scratch player, but she is prioritising rest for the next few days.