‘Added Fuel to The Fire’: Ashleigh Barty Says The Media Exaggerated The National Expectations

World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty lifted her maiden Australian Open trophy yesterday in Melbourne. Thus, Barty became the first Australian woman since Chris O’Neil in 1978 to win the Australian Open.

Consequently, the 3-time Grand Slam champion has brought a 44-year drought to an end, bringing the Australian Open women’s trophy home. In her post-match conference, Barty talked about whether the pressure of winning this title weighed on her.

After all, the entire nation of Australia expected their home champion to lift the cup. Coming into the tournament, Barty was certainly the favorite to win the title.

Expectations have no impact on Ashleigh Barty

Ashleigh Barty shared how for her, the ‘expectation’ was not to win the title, but to do her best on the tennis court. “That’s all I’ve ever done,” the 25-year-old shared.

However, she expressed how she would prefer for the media to stop talking about the national expectation that preceded the win. “You guys don’t need to talk about it anymore,” she said.

“You were the ones who added fuel to the fire,” Barty stated, referring to the added pressure that the media expectations put on her. In fact, she then cleared out how no matter what match or platform she plays in, it is all the same to her.

“For us, it was just the same processes and the same enjoyment, regardless of where we’re playing in the world and what round it is,” Barty revealed. She shared how the importance of a match “has no impact on how much (she) enjoy(s) tennis.” Moreover, it also does not affect how hard she tries and competes.

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Then, Ashleigh Barty went on to talk about just how grateful she felt for the amazing tournament that the Australian Open 2022 was.

Barty is grateful for the Australian Open 2022 and the fans

Ashleigh, who has now made history that only four other active players share beside her, praised the tournament and the fans. Barty is now only the fifth active player to have won a Grand Slam across all three surfaces.

The four other players on that list are Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic. Furthermore, Barty talked about how over the fortnight, she got to “walk out onto a beautiful court with incredible fans.”

She stated that she tried to do her best in every single match. “That’s all I could ask of myself,” Barty said. Of course, she acknowledged that winning the Australian Open at home was a part of her dream. Thus, having achieved that feels amazing to the World No. 1.

Nevertheless, Barty does not for a moment forget to pay credit where due. She acknowledged how her achievements are always a joint effort between her team and the people around her. “Without them, I wouldn’t be half of the person that I am,” Barty stated.

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