On Saturday, Ashleigh Barty won her maiden Wimbledon women’s singles title. She became the first Australian woman to do so at Wimbledon since Evonne Goolagong Cawley won in 1980. Barty, the World Number 1, clinched the title at the All England Club by beating Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 6-3. This is her second career grand slam singles title, the French Open in 2019 being her first.

Take it in, @AshBarty. You're #Wimbledon champion ☺️ pic.twitter.com/3DbWRmFzTD

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 10, 2021

Reflecting on her win, Barty said, ” It took me a long time to verbalize, to dare to dream it and say it. I didn’t sleep a lot last night, I was thinking of all the what-ifs. I hope I made Evonne proud.”

“To achieve my biggest dream has been absolutely incredible. The stars aligned for me over the past fortnight – incredible. That it happened to fall on the 50th anniversary of Evonne’s first title here, too, is absolutely incredible.” added Ash Barty.

Ash Barty – The Cricketer

While everyone is aware of Ash Barty’s achievements on the tennis field, very few know that she once played for the Brisbane Heats in the Women’s Big Bash League, back in 2015. Ashleigh took a break from her tennis career and tried her hand at cricket.

Ash Barty is a right-handed batsman. She played 9 matches in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL), scoring 68 runs with 39 being her best.

In an interaction in 2019, with the Brisbane Heats, Barty shared her experience of playing in the WBBL. She said,

“It truly was an amazing period of my life. I met an amazing group of people who couldn’t care less whether I could hit a tennis ball or not. They accepted me, and they got to know Ash Barty. They got to know me. I still have those relationships to this very day.”

“The way they are accepting of someone new coming into their locker room, into their dressing room, and into their sport was amazing. They are truly an incredible group of girls that I know I’ll have a relationship with for the rest of my life and a friendship with for the rest of my life,” she added.

After a small cricketing phase in her career, Barty continued playing tennis and is now the top-ranked female tennis player in the world.

 

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