“Those Memories are All Through My Childhood”: Ashleigh Barty Recalls How She Entered the World of Tennis

World No.1 Ashleigh Barty recently won her second Grand Slam title at the Wimbledon Championships 2021. She defeated Karolina Pliskova in the finals to become the first Australian woman who lifted the Championships since 1980.

Interestingly, Ashleigh Barty is also leading the Australian tennis team at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. In a recent video, she talked about her journey and how she started playing tennis at the age of four.

“I started playing tennis- we used to drive past a tennis court on my way to my sister’s netball lessons on the weekend,” began Barty in the video. “So, when I was 4-years-old, we used to always drive past the same tennis center, and I just wanted to have a crack. I wanted to have a go and I convinced my mom and dad to let me go out there and play.”

Barty was quite a great netball and cricket player before she became a professional in tennis. Interestingly, it was indirectly because of her sister’s netball practice that the world is witnessing a champion on the court today.

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Ashleigh Barty remembers her first-ever tennis lesson

In the same video, Barty recalled her first-ever tennis lesson as well. It was with her coach, Jim Joyce, with whom she also did her first hitting practice. The Australian believes that all these memories are special to her and she’ll not forget them ever in her career.

“I remember my first lesson, hitting out on Court 4 with Jim throwing me the ball for the first time. And I think those memories are all through my childhood. I’ll never forget,” added the World No.1 player.

It is the first time when Ashleigh Barty will be representing her nation at the Olympic Games. She will be facing Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo in the first round of the tournament. Will she be able to win an Olympic Gold for her country this year?

Also Read: Tokyo Olympics 2020 Women’s Singles Seeds: Ashleigh Barty, Naomi Osaka, Aryna Sabalenka, and Others to Headline the List