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THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

June 29, 2019

Ashleigh Barty

Wimbledon, London, England

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How is the arm now? Everything okay?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, it's been good. It's been a really good couple of days. It was nice to stay off the court for a few days, started hitting again on Thursday.

As far as we're going, everything has kind of worked out well with monitoring our loads, all those kind of things. So feeling good.

Q. Now that you've had a couple of hits on the courts here at Aorangi, how do they compare to Birmingham?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Aorangi plays a little bit differently to the match courts. Each match court plays a little bit differently as well. It's about trying to get used to them as best that I can.

It will also be an adjustment come my first-round matches to try to get used to the speed of the court, the bounce of the ball as quickly as possible. It is a little bit different. It's a bit of an adjustment. Obviously the courts at Aorangi get a lot more play on them than the match courts.

Been nice to hit on a few different courts, but it feels good.

Q. Serena Williams said you could probably cement this No. 1 ranking. How does it feel coming into the tournament as No. 1, on Serena's comments?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, it's new feeling for me. Something that I've never experienced before. It hasn't really changed much, to be honest. We're still trying to go about all of our business, all of our preparations the same way. We know what we've been doing has been working. For us, it's about trying to keep that normality as much as possible.

There's more attention, there's more of that outside noise. But from what we're trying to do on the court, it hasn't changed much. We'll just keep trying to grow and be better every single day.

Q. A bit of an off-the-beaten-path question. Can you think back to your days playing cricket, compare cricket fans, what spectators are like, versus tennis fans?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: I think it depends where you are. Obviously here at Wimbledon, they're a little bit different. Cricket in general is a very different sport. It's hard to take too many comparisons.

What I learnt in cricket has helped me immensely back into tennis. Nothing really directly that coincides. Certainly from all the experiences I had in cricket, I've learned and tried to take them into tennis as much as I could.

Q. In terms of the fan atmosphere, what would you say is the biggest difference?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: It's a massive difference. Tennis, you're in a very intimate setting. The fans are a lot closer to you. On a cricket field, they can be 80 or 90 meters away.

Yeah, very different.

Q. You play your first Grand Slam final in Paris, played beautifully. Then you had a chance to become No. 1. You played great again in Birmingham. How would you handle pressure? Does it come naturally? Do you have special technique to absorb the pressure?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: No special secrets. For me, it's just about trying to play the same way, the right way. I go out there and try and prepare as best as I can.

The only pressure is that that I put on myself to make sure that I do everything correctly and prepare as best that I can to try and play a good tennis match, try and play well, to enjoy myself. Regardless of whether I win or lose the match, I can walk off with a smile, know I've done everything possible to try to do my best.

Q. With your affinity for the surface, the grass season being so short, in the past have you put more pressure on yourself playing at Wimbledon, what you expect from yourself playing at Wimbledon? What do you feel like now that you're No. 1, won Birmingham going into this tournament, how do you play this as a normal event to the extent you haven't in the past?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, it's impossible to play it as a normal event because Wimbledon isn't a normal event. For us, in my opinion, it's one of the most incredible weeks on the calendar. I try and come out here and enjoy it.

It's a little bit bizarre coming into Wimbledon having only played one grass court tournament. We feel like we've been striking the ball really well, we're comfortable with the grass under our feet. Now it's about coming out this week and try to continue do all the little things right, the simple things right, so come my first-round match I can play as best as I can, try the best that I can.

As I keep saying, regardless of a win or a loss, it's about trying to go about it the right way beforehand and then enjoying the match.

Q. When you look at the draw, you see the players that are in the top half, what are your thoughts?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: I haven't looked at the draw (laughter).

I mean, I've seen my first-round opponent. Flicking through on social media, you see people that are in certain quarters. I couldn't tell you where they are in any kind of direct way.

Yeah, I haven't looked at the draw.

Q. What is the biggest thing you've learned about managing a Grand Slam tournament now that you've gone the full seven compared to when you were younger or even last year? What are the big keys you learned?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: I think even in Paris, it was a little bit of a bizarre slam, having played the quarter, semi and final on back-to-back days is pretty unique. Probably hasn't happened very often. I think I'm still learning. I got a little bit of a taste of it in doubles, going through the two weeks a few times.

Yeah, it's something that you just have to try and take in your stride and keep it very simple. On the days you aren't playing, it's about relaxing, trying to practice some specifics, but overall trying to stay as fresh as you can, staying in the moment and trying to enjoy it as much as you can.

Q. Back to the draw, what do you make of your first round match? How do you prepare for that?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Saisai has incredible abilities to match up on a grass court. I think she was done well here in the past. She has got a good slice backhand, the kick serve that will react well off the courts. She loves playing on the grass courts. I think it's a tough first-round match, one that I know I'll have to be ready for.

I think that's kind of the perfect start for me, trying to make sure I'm really switched on for that first-round match, trying to do the best that I can.

Q. Andy Murray was in here talking about how positive he thought it was that you've had this journey where you stepped away from the sport. Shows there's different ways to go about reaching your goals. Have you ever talked to any other players about that decision? Relatively unique timeline you've had in the sport. People are looking up to you as a success story.
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Every person is unique. Everyone has their own journey, paves their own path. It's hard for me to tell anyone they need a break. It's their decision, their career. It certainly worked for me. It was something I needed to do.

Now that we've come back, kind of had this fresh start, gone about it our way, made our own decisions, that's been the best thing that's ever happened for me.

I can't tell people they need to have time off. It's their career and their decisions.

Q. How much family have you got over here watching this year? Have the requests for tickets gone up after what happened in Paris?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: I have my team over here. My family are back home in Australia. For us, it's kind of a normal week. We planned that mum and dad were going to be over here between the French and Wimbledon. Now they're back home looking after the puppies, having a good time.

Yeah, for us, it's my normal team that's around me, my team that's been with me over the last three, three and a half years. Yeah, everything is really normal.

Q. Friends and family ticket requests gone up or not?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Not really. Not really. No, I think it's hard to request tickets when you're sitting back in Australia (laughter).

Two of my girlfriends are coming over. They'll come out and enjoy it. But other than that, all the same.

Q. Since you got to No. 1 after Birmingham, what has the reaction been amongst the players? Are they razzing you, giving you the business?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: No, they've all been pretty cruise-y, to be honest. I haven't seen too many of the girls. We've all been in our own little worlds practicing and preparing.

I've had a nice reception from a lot of the players. It's nice to get that respect and acknowledgment from your peers. Knowing in a couple days' time that's all pushed aside and we'll go play hard.

Q. You're No. 1 in the world, favorite to win. You seem to be more focused on the process than the result. Have you taken the time to look back and savor what has been happening to you?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, I don't know if I'm the favorite for Wimbledon. I think I need to try and get through this first round first and foremost. Obviously the process, like you said, what we've been going through, has been working. There's no need for me to change that. I've enjoyed every single minute of that. There have been some really tough times and some incredible times.

We celebrated after the French Open. We celebrated after Birmingham. Nothing really gets out of hand. But it's important to celebrate the accolades and the milestones you do reach.

For me, one of the best parts about playing tennis is that there's always another week to prepare for, to enjoy the competition, to prepare to play.

Q. You went to see Australia against England in cricket. How was that?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: It's always good when Aussies beat the English, isn't it (smiling)?

At Lords, it was incredible. The Australian cricket team were nice enough to invite us into the dressing rooms, as well, which was a bucket list item. Standing on the balcony at Lords was pretty incredible.

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