“Everybody thinks I have done a lot, but I cannot explain what Ash has done for me.”įor a tennis nation like Australia, home to Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall and to grass courts in country towns and fancy clubs, it beggars belief that it would take 44 years to win any tournament, much less their own. “She knows how proud I am of her,” Dellacqua said as she sat next to Barty on the set of Australia’s Channel Nine on Saturday. And when Barty had spent more than a year away from the game, playing professional cricket and leaving the jet lag behind, it was Dellacqua who invited her out for a hit and helped her realize that she did indeed want to fully explore her prodigious tennis talent.īarty returned to the tour in 2016 with no ranking but full commitment, and Saturday’s 6-3, 7-6 (2) victory over Danielle Collins of the United States was the latest proof that she made the right decision, for herself above all, but also for her sports-mad country. Barty, just 18, was depressed, lonely and desperate to live a more normal life than that provided by hotels and practice courts.

“She brought me into the sport again,” Barty said.ĭellacqua supported Barty’s decision in September 2014 to leave the tennis tour. They have been close for a decade - since Barty summoned the moxie at age 15 to ask her to play doubles - and it seemed appropriate on this fulfilling Saturday night that Dellacqua, now retired, be the first to embrace her. Now, Barty, Australia’s first Australian Open singles champion since 1978, was motioning to someone on the other side of the deep blue expanse, beckoning with both hands and a relaxed smile.Ĭasey Dellacqua emerged from the sidelines. Barty, often inscrutable on a tennis court, had just finished letting her guard down with a full-flex howl of delight that could almost be heard above the roars in Rod Laver Arena. MELBOURNE, Australia - The 44-year drought was over in Ashleigh Barty’s sunburned country.

Australian open women's results