Ash Barty salutes former junior coach soon after becoming Wimbledon champion

Ash Barty was applauded and greeted by some of the most famous celebrities on the planet after her Wimbledon win but her thoughts soon turned to those close to her.

She was applauded by Tom Cruise, lauded by Duchess Kate but the instant the cheering stopped she went back to her roots with a simple text declaring “we’ve done it Jimbo.’’

They’d done it alright but the message was not so much a nod to what happened in the early hours of Sunday morning at Wimbledon but the two decades that preceded it.

Ash Barty after claiming her Wimbledon title. Picture: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

It is 10 years since Barty, by necessity because she was about to hit the road, parted with her Brisbane-based junior coach Jim Joyce but she has never forgot the way he shaped her from the time she ambitiously turned up a few years too early to his coaching classes at the West Brisbane Tennis Centre but he let her in anyway.

“This little kid was so impressive from her first day,’’ said Joyce, who received Barty’s early morning text in Rockhampton after he had spent Saturday at the races.

“She was (four years old) in a group of eight to 12 years old and her concentration just stood out. She listened to every word. Her focus was remarkable. She basically lived on our courts. You couldn’t keep her away.’’

Within 15 minutes of her exceptional semi-final win on Thursday night Barty made Joyce shed a tear when she texted him saying “I wish you were here on Saturday.’’

“I sent back a (playful) message saying you always said if you went deep into Wimbledon and I wasn’t there you would send a private jet for me. And she said sent a message back saying “bloody Covid.’’

Ash Barty as a kid.

Barty is renowned as a clever, resourceful player who morphs into the player she needs to be on that day.

Many observers trace this back to Joyce’s early coaching of her which was full of variety, invention and stimulation … because it had to be.

“She would get bored if you did the same old things. She actually made me a better coach. I have to come up with new ideas. I had to invent things. I would chip and run to the let and make her hit over my head. We would do that 30- times.

“I would yell out the shot I wanted her to play. The slice lob. The drop shot. She used to love practising the drop shot. She did the hard yards.

“She would get a smile on her face and I would say “that is the way it has to feel.’’

All of those little quirks were on display in Saturday’s epic final … the dinky drop shots, the lob, those delicious, slow motion style backhands that clear the net so narrowly they appear to go through it.

“People say her win is unbelievable but it is not unbelievable to me. I had no doubt she would win Wimbledon one say, whether it was this year or whatever. I don’t think she thought her career was over until she did it.

Ash Barty's childhood tennis coach Jim Joyce. Picture: William Dubois

Ash’s father Rob has occasionally been asked to talk to Queensland clubs about how to raise a tennis player and preaches the wisdom of letting parents be parents and allowing coaches to coach, a move much appreciated by Joyce.

“There are so many parents that could learn so much from the Bartys. Parents ask me all the time about Ash and I will tell them stuff but they still do the opposite and get too emotionally involved. They don’t see themselves as other people see them. The Bartys just stayed out of it – totally.

“If I said don’t play that tournament that was it.’’

Barty senior once said Joyce had a simple set of rules such as enjoy it, be happy, be a nice person and show respect and then came the suggestion that if you can play tennis and shine, happy days. It’s a bonus.

“My big theory was you are not a champion at age 12. Who knows who the national under 12 champion was two years ago. It’s 18 to 25 when you have to hit your straps. Enjoy the game. Too many players look miserable out there.’’

Joyce stayed close to Barty when he she quit the sport for two years and he remembers only six years ago she barely watched the tournament of which she is now champion.

“She was coaching at a school holiday clinic with me in 2015 I asked her if she was watching Wimbledon. She said “mum and dad have had it on but I’m not that interested.’’ I thought “oh my god. This is not getting any better.’’

But it did get better and back she came to climb the game’s highest mountain. The text was on the money. They did it.

Originally published as Ash Barty salutes former junior coach soon after becoming Wimbledon champion