Ashleigh Barty facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Ashleigh Barty
AO

Barty in 2019
Full name	Ashleigh Jacinta Barty
Country (sports)	Australia
Residence	Brookwater, Queensland, Australia
Born	(1996-04-24) 24 April 1996 (age 29) Ipswich, Queensland, Australia
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Turned pro	April 2010
Retired	March 2022
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money	US$23,829,071 17th all-time in earnings
Singles
Career record	305–102 (74.94%)
Career titles	15
Highest ranking	No. 1 (24 June 2019)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	W (2022)
French Open	W (2019)
Wimbledon	W (2021)
US Open	4R (2018, 2019)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	W (2019)
Olympic Games	1R (2020)
Doubles
Career record	200–64 (75.76%)
Career titles	12
Highest ranking	No. 5 (21 May 2018)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	F (2013)
French Open	F (2017)
Wimbledon	F (2013)
US Open	W (2018)
Other doubles tournaments
Tour Finals	SF (2018)
Olympic Games	QF (2020)
Mixed doubles
Career record	7–9
Career titles	0
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open	2R (2014)
French Open	1R (2013)
Wimbledon	QF (2013)
US Open	QF (2014)
Other mixed doubles tournaments
Olympic Games	Bronze (2020)
Team competitions
Fed Cup	F (2019)
Hopman Cup	RR (2013, 2019)
Medal record Olympic Games Representing  Australia Bronze 2020 Tokyo Mixed doubles

Ashleigh Jacinta Barty (born 24 April 1996) is an Australian former professional tennis player and cricketer. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 121 weeks. She also reached world No. 5 in doubles. Ashleigh won 12 singles titles on the WTA Tour, including three major championships. These were the 2019 French Open, 2021 Wimbledon Championships, and 2022 Australian Open. She also won the 2019 WTA Finals.

Ashleigh also won 12 doubles titles. This included a major title at the 2018 US Open with her partner CoCo Vandeweghe. As a junior player, she was ranked world No. 2 and won the 2011 Wimbledon girls' singles title. In 2014, Ashleigh took a break from tennis to play cricket. She played for the Brisbane Heat in the first Women's Big Bash League season.

Ashleigh returned to tennis in 2016. She had a great year in singles in 2017, winning her first WTA Tour title. She also became world No. 17. In 2018, she won her first major doubles title. Then, in 2019, she won her first major singles title at the French Open. Ashleigh won five more titles in 2021, including her second major singles title at Wimbledon. With her win at the 2022 Australian Open, she won a major singles title on all three main tennis surfaces. Ashleigh also helped Australia reach the final of the 2019 Fed Cup. She won a bronze medal in mixed doubles at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Ashleigh announced her retirement from tennis in March 2022. This was just two months after her Australian Open win, while she was still ranked world No. 1.

Ashleigh was known for her all-court game and many different shots. Even though she was not very tall for a tennis player, she had an excellent serve. She was often among the top players for aces and service points won. She is the National Indigenous Tennis Ambassador for Tennis Australia. Her 114 weeks in a row at No. 1 is the fourth-longest streak in WTA history.

Early Life and Background

Ashleigh Jacinta Barty, known as "Ash," was born on 24 April 1996. Her parents are Josie and Robert Barty. She was born in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. Her father was a talented golfer. Her mother was also a state-level golfer. Through her great-grandmother, Ashleigh is part of the Indigenous Australian Ngaragu people. She grew up in Springfield, near Ipswich. She has two older sisters, Sara and Ali. As a child, Ashleigh also played netball. However, she chose to focus on tennis.

Ashleigh started training with her coach, Jim Joyce, at age four. Jim Joyce usually did not train children so young. But he made an exception for Ashleigh. He noticed her amazing hand-eye coordination and focus. He remembered her first lesson, saying, "The first ball I threw to her, bang! She hit it right back." Ashleigh also practiced at home. She would hit the ball against a wall for hours after school. By age nine, she was playing against boys six years older. At 12, she played against adult men.

Former tennis player Scott Draper later joined Ashleigh's coaching team. When she was 15, Jason Stoltenberg became her main coach. Ashleigh's junior tennis schedule meant she spent much of the year away from her family. The year she turned 17, she was only home for 27 days.

Tennis Career Highlights

Junior Success

Barty at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships

Ashleigh reached a junior ranking of world No. 2. She was very good at both singles and doubles. She started playing junior tournaments in 2009 at age 13. She won her first title before turning 14. In 2011, she played her first junior Grand Slam at the Australian Open.

After a loss at the 2011 French Open, Ashleigh won her only junior Grand Slam title at Wimbledon. She was just 15 years old. She was the second Australian girl to win the Wimbledon girls' singles event. She won the final against third seed Irina Khromacheva. At the US Open, she reached the semifinals. She also won two more doubles titles that year. She helped Australia win the Junior Fed Cup.

Early Professional Years (2010–2012)

Ashleigh started her professional career in April 2010, just after turning 14. She played in her hometown of Ipswich. In her second professional tournament, she reached the semifinals. In 2011, she reached two quarterfinals. After winning the Wimbledon girls' singles title, she received a wildcard to play in the US Open qualifying rounds.

In 2012, Ashleigh made her main-draw debuts on the WTA Tour. At the Brisbane International, she reached the doubles semifinals with Casey Dellacqua. They upset the top-seeded team. The next week, she made her singles debut at the Hobart International. She then played in her first Grand Slam main draw at the Australian Open. She also received wildcards for the French Open and Wimbledon.

Ashleigh also had a great year on the ITF Circuit. She won four singles titles and four doubles titles. She won both singles and doubles at the Nottingham Challenge. She ended the year ranked No. 177 in singles and No. 129 in doubles.

Doubles Breakthrough (2013–2014)

In 2013, Ashleigh started playing more on the WTA Tour. She became one of the world's best doubles players. She was still only 16 years old for part of the season.

First WTA Tour Wins

Ashleigh won her first two WTA Tour-level singles matches at the Malaysian Open. She reached the quarterfinals. She also won her first-round matches at the French Open and US Open. In 2014, she won her only singles main draw match of the year at the Brisbane International.

Major Doubles Finals

Barty at the 2013 US Open

In doubles, Ashleigh partnered with Casey Dellacqua in 2013. They reached the finals at three Grand Slam tournaments: the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and US Open. At 16, Ashleigh was the youngest Grand Slam finalist since 2004. They were the first Australian duo to reach an Australian Open women's doubles final since 1977. They won one title together at the Birmingham Classic. Ashleigh finished 2013 ranked No. 12 in doubles.

In 2014, Ashleigh and Casey won their second title together at the Internationaux de Strasbourg. They also reached the quarterfinals at the French Open and Wimbledon.

Tennis Break and Cricket (2014–2016)

After the 2014 US Open, Ashleigh announced she was taking a break from tennis. She later explained that she needed time to "refresh mentally." She wanted to experience life as a normal teenager. At that time, she was ranked outside the top 200 in singles and No. 40 in doubles.

Ashleigh became interested in playing cricket. She had no formal experience but met with the Australian women's national team. She liked the idea of playing a team sport. Andy Richards, a cricket coach, was very impressed with her skills. Ashleigh started training with the Queensland Fire team. She also played for a local team, Western Suburbs District Cricket Club. She scored 63 runs in one game and took two wickets. She later signed with the Brisbane Heat for the first Women's Big Bash League season. She made her debut in December and scored 39 runs in one match.

Return to Tennis and US Open Doubles Champion (2016–2018)

Barty at the 2016 Eastbourne Trophy

Ashleigh announced her return to tennis in February 2016. She started working with coach Craig Tyzzer. She first played doubles events and won three titles in her first two months back.

She returned to singles in May 2016. She reached the semifinals at a $50K event. The next week, she reached the quarterfinals at the Nottingham Open. She was happy to compete with the best players again.

First WTA Title and Top 15 Ranking

In 2017, Ashleigh won her first career matches at the Australian Open, reaching the third round. At the Malaysian Open, she won both the singles and doubles titles. This was her first WTA singles title and helped her enter the top 100. She continued to rise in the rankings. She reached the final at Birmingham, her best result at a Premier tournament.

At the Wuhan Open, she reached her first Premier 5 final. She defeated three top-ten players but lost in the final. She rose to No. 23 in the world. She finished the season at a career-high ranking of No. 17.

Ashleigh had a strong start to 2018. She reached the final of the Sydney International. She won the Nottingham Open on grass for her second WTA title. She then reached the third round at Wimbledon. At the US Open, she reached the fourth round for the first time at a Grand Slam.

Towards the end of 2018, Ashleigh won the Elite Trophy. This was the biggest title of her career. She finished the season at a career-high ranking of No. 15.

First Major Doubles Title

Barty at the 2018 US Open

In 2017, Ashleigh reunited with Casey Dellacqua in doubles. They reached the quarterfinals or better at three Grand Slams. They made it to the finals at the French Open. They won three titles together, including the Birmingham Classic. They finished the year as the third-highest ranked doubles team.

In 2018, Ashleigh partnered with CoCo Vandeweghe. They won the Miami Open, Ashleigh's first Premier Mandatory title. She also won two Premier 5 tournaments with Demi Schuurs. The first of these helped her reach a career-best doubles ranking of No. 5.

Later in 2018, Ashleigh and CoCo Vandeweghe won her first career Grand Slam title at the US Open. They defeated the top-seeded team in the semifinals. In the final, they beat the second-seeded team. They came back from losing the first set and being down championship points to win.

World No. 1 and Major Titles (2019–2022)

French Open Champion and WTA Finals Winner

Barty at the 2019 Sydney International

In 2019, Ashleigh started the season with a runner-up finish at the Sydney International. She defeated Simona Halep for her first win over a world No. 1 player. At the Australian Open, she reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. She then won the Miami Open, her first Premier Mandatory title. This result helped her enter the top 10.

Ashleigh won her first Grand Slam singles title at the French Open. She defeated Markéta Vondroušová in the final. She became the first Australian woman to win the French Open singles title since 1973. She then won the Birmingham Classic and became the world No. 1.

She lost the No. 1 ranking briefly but regained it. At the end of 2019, Ashleigh made her singles debut at the WTA Finals. She won the tournament, defeating Elina Svitolina in the final. She won $4.42 million, the largest prize money in tennis history at that time. Ashleigh finished 2019 as the year-end world No. 1. She also won the WTA Player of the Year award.

In 2020, Ashleigh won her first title on home soil at the Adelaide International. She reached the semifinals of the Australian Open. She was the first Australian woman to reach the semifinals since 1984. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ashleigh decided to skip the rest of the 2020 season. She finished as the year-end world No. 1 for the second year in a row.

Wimbledon and Australian Open Champion

After an 11-month break, Ashleigh returned to tennis in 2021. She won the Yarra Valley Classic. At the Australian Open, she reached the quarterfinals. She then defended her title at the Miami Open. She became the first No. 1 seed to win the Miami Open since 2015.

Ashleigh won her third title of 2021 at the Stuttgart Open. She then won her second major singles title at Wimbledon. She became the first Australian woman to win the title since 1980. At the Tokyo Olympics, she lost in the first round of singles. She won the title at the Cincinnati Open. She finished 2021 as the year-end world No. 1 for the third year in a row. She also received the WTA Player of the Year award again.

Ashleigh started 2022 by winning the Adelaide International. At the Australian Open, she reached the final without losing a set. She defeated Danielle Collins to become the first Australian woman since 1978 to win the Australian Open. She also became the eighth female player to win a major on three different surfaces.

Olympic Bronze Medal

In 2021, Ashleigh partnered with Jennifer Brady and won the doubles title in Stuttgart. At the 2020 Olympics, Ashleigh partnered Storm Sanders in women's doubles and reached the quarterfinals. In mixed doubles, she partnered John Peers and they won a bronze medal. This was Australia's first Olympic mixed doubles medal.

In 2022, Ashleigh won the doubles tournament in Adelaide with Storm Sanders. This meant she won both the singles and doubles titles at the same event for the third time.

Retirement

On 23 March 2022, Ashleigh announced her retirement from tennis. She said she no longer had the "physical drive" or "emotional want" to compete at the top level. Ashleigh became the second player to retire while holding the world No. 1 ranking. In her book, My Dream Time, she explained that after winning Wimbledon, her "one true dream," she started to lose motivation. In 2022, Ashleigh also took on a role as "chief of inspiration" for an Australian telephone company, Optus.

After retiring, Ashleigh donated three of her Grand Slam outfits to the State Library of Queensland. These were from her wins at the 2019 French Open, 2021 Wimbledon, and 2022 Australian Open.

National Representation

Fed Cup

Ashleigh first played for Australia in the Fed Cup in 2013 at age 16. In 2018, she helped Australia reach the World Group playoffs. She won all her matches in the tie against Ukraine. She also won her singles matches against the Netherlands. This helped Australia get back into the top-tier World Group in 2019.

In 2019, Ashleigh was key in leading Australia to the 2019 Fed Cup final. She won all six of her matches in the first two rounds. Australia faced France in the final. Ashleigh won her first singles match easily. However, her 15-match winning streak in Fed Cup ended in her next match. France won the final doubles match to win the Fed Cup.

Hopman Cup

Ashleigh represented Australia in the Hopman Cup twice. Her first appearance was in 2013. She teamed up with Bernard Tomic. They finished second in their group. In 2019, she teamed with Matthew Ebden. They won their first two ties but lost to Germany.

Olympic Games

Ashleigh represented Australia at the 2020 Summer Olympics in three events. In singles, she lost in the first round. In women's doubles, she and Storm Sanders reached the quarterfinals. In mixed doubles, she and John Peers won a bronze medal. This was Australia's first medal in Olympic mixed doubles.

Playing Style

Barty serving

Ashleigh had an all-court game and a clever style of play. Her favorite surface was grass. She also played very well on hard courts. She won singles and doubles titles on all three main tennis surfaces.

Because of her height and many different shots, she was compared to former world No. 1 Martina Hingis. Ashleigh had strong groundstrokes from both her forehand and backhand sides. She used her powerful forehand to hit shots with sharp angles. Her kick serve and backhand slice were also excellent. She often used her one-handed backhand slice to set up powerful forehand shots. Ashleigh was good at coming to the net and was excellent at volleying. She used her variety of shots to make it difficult for her opponents.

Despite her height, Ashleigh was a great server. Her serve was recorded as fast as 115 mph (185 km/h). In 2018, she was fourth on the WTA Tour in aces. She was also second in the percentage of service points won.

Thanasi Kokkinakis, another Australian tennis player, described her game. He said, "Ash plays different to most girls. She likes to come into the net, she uses her slice very well and she's crafty." He added that she plays with more control and makes things "awkward" for her opponents.

Personal Life

Ashleigh took a break from professional tennis from September 2014 to February 2016. During this time, she played semi-professional cricket. She later said she needed time to "refresh mentally." Her family and coaches supported her decision. She continued to play tennis casually during her break. She also enjoyed hobbies like fishing and built a new house near her family. She decided to return to tennis because she missed it.

Ashleigh is the National Indigenous Tennis Ambassador for Tennis Australia. This role helps promote Indigenous participation in tennis. She is proud of her heritage and her role. She was recognized as the Female Sportsperson of the Year at the National Dreamtime Awards in 2017, 2018, and 2019. She was also honored as the Young Australian of the Year in 2020.

Ashleigh supports the Richmond Football Club in Australian Rules Football and Manchester United in soccer. She presented the premiership cup to Richmond when they won the 2020 AFL Grand Final.

Ashleigh has been in a relationship with Australian professional golfer Garry Kissick since 2017. They announced their engagement in November 2021. Ashleigh married Garry Kissick on 23 July 2022. On 2 July 2023, she gave birth to a son named Hayden. In June 2025, they welcomed a daughter named Jordan.

Awards and Recognition

Ashleigh Barty received many awards for her tennis career:

• ITF Awards
  • World Champion: 2019, 2021
• WTA Awards
  • Player of the Year: 2019, 2021
• Sport Australia Hall of Fame
  • The Don Award: 2019, 2022
• Australian Tennis Awards
  • Newcombe Medal: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021
  • Female Junior Athlete of the Year: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
• AIS Sport Performance Awards
  • ABC Sport Personality of the Year: 2019
  • Female Athlete of the Year: 2019
  • Sporting Moment of the Year: 2019
• Australian Women's Health Sport Awards
  • Sportswoman of the Year: 2019
  • Moment of The Year: 2019
• National Dreamtime Awards
  • Female Sportsperson: 2017, 2018, 2019
• Sportsmanship
  • US Open: 2018, 2021
• Young Australian of the Year Awards
  • Young Australian of the Year: 2020
• Order of Australia
  • Appointed Officer of the Order of Australia in 2022 for her great service to tennis and youth programs.

See also

In Spanish: Ashleigh Barty para niños