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US OPEN

August 23, 2019

Ashleigh Barty

New York, NY, USA

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Just checking in on what the preparation has been feeling like and confidence-wise, body-wise, how are you feeling going into the US Open?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, I feel great. I think it was important for me to try to get a few matches at Cincinnati, and we were able to do that and battle through that week.

It's certainly nice to be back here in New York, a tournament last year for me that was incredible in both singles and doubles. Excited now to get out and have my first hit.

Q. From winning a Grand Slam to becoming No. 1 and you have just a momentous rise over the last year, how are you working with that mentally now? Across the board, are you comfortable with it?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, I mean, nothing has really changed for me. It's been an incredible ride over the last three-and-a-half years, but the last 12 months in particular has been incredible.

I think I'm very lucky to have a great team around me that bring me back down to earth. Off the court we don't talk tennis. We enjoy each other's company and have a really good banter. When it's time to work, we come to the courts and try and do the best every day, and that's really all we can ask.

Q. There is a lot of pressure on the tour, and you had your share with being under pressure. Now you are, you know, a high achiever and doing well. Do you have any advice for the players on the tour that they are struggling maybe with mental health or the pressure? Any thought on that?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, I think I had my own battles with mental health, and it was important for me to begin the conversation and start talking about that. That started with people I trust.

I think that's probably the most important thing is to know that there are a lot of people in the world that struggle with it. It's not just you. You can go out there and talk to people that you trust. You know, I think then it's about beginning to learn to enjoy everything.

You know, there are some different parts that come with being a professional tennis player. There are some great parts. I think it's important to embrace and enjoy it all, take it in your stride and take it as it comes. I think that's the best part about it that as tennis players we are shown so much around the world, extremely lucky to be able to do what we do. It's challenging at times but it's also very rewarding.

Q. Does your personality make it easier for you to come to New York? Do you just smile a lot? Obviously you come from a sports-loving country. Some people come to New York and it's pressure. That's not a concern for you at all, I assume?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Oh, there is no place in the world like New York. I think I have been here a few times now, and I understand the city a little bit better. I know how it works.

You come here and you just take it in your stride. You enjoy it. There's no point fighting it. It's a beautiful city, a beautiful place that we get to come and play and compete every single year.

I love New York city, always have. It's always been a city for me that I've enjoyed my time, love the conditions here in New York. I think it's definitely a spark in my calendar. I love coming back here every year.

Q. Could I ask you to please assess Serena's chances this year? Is she, in your mind, the No. 1 favorite for this tournament?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Oh, I think every single person in the draw has as good of a chance as anyone else. You know, you guys probably talk about the favorites more than I do. I just come here to play and do the best that I can, and that's all that bothers me.

Q. Speaking of Serena, she has to play Maria in the first round and you just played Maria a few weeks ago in Cincinnati. Curious what you make of that as a first round in a Grand Slam, if you'll watch it and what you make of it?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, when I saw the draw, I kind of refreshed my feed and saw that first round pop up. There are a lot of other quality first rounds. It's not the only first round in the draw.

I think more importantly I'm focused on my first round on Monday, and that's all I'm worried about for the moment.

Q. I know we have spoken a lot about your journey, what it was like, young success, stepping away, coming back. Curious, having gone through that now and in retrospect, what do you think are the key things a teenager doing very well on tour, the key things to protect that teenager and to make sure that he or she is doing the right things? For you, what are the key things?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Oh, I think every single person is on a unique journey, first and foremost. It's hard for me to comment on other people's journeys. I don't know what it's like for them. I'm not in their shoes.

I know for me it was about making sure I was mentally refreshed and I had surrounded myself with the best people. I have an extremely genuine, knowledgeable team around me that I trust and that I love and that I consider family. I think that's the best thing.

Q. This major, it seems like in a lot of ways things kind of kicked off here, and from here you built and built and built, especially in the majors. Do you think things clicked, for you, in terms of getting the best out of your tennis in the slams here in the New York, or was it a progression that your tennis was just getting better so the results were just going to come?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, I think a bit of both. To be honest, I think my tennis last year at the US Open I had an incredible (indiscernible) of tennis. I had a bit of a breakout in singles, making the second week for the first time and finally getting over that last hurdle in the doubles with CoCo was incredible.

I think it's been a genuine progression of my tennis. And a goal for us this year was to try and do well in Grand Slams, and we have been able to do that. Hopefully we have one more big push here in New York and for the rest of the season we can finish well.

Q. How important it is for sponsors to believe in players before they are making big and also help them and support them, especially financially to make it?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Oh, I think, you know, the financial help that you get with sponsors is a little bit irrelevant, in my opinion. I'm very lucky to have been supported with Fila and been a part of their family for a long time. That's the part that I love most about this company is that every single one of these players works closely with Martin, and we are all a family. We enjoy each other's company.

That's the best thing, knowing I've got the backing and support of a global company and with so much rich history, especially for Australians has been incredible.

Q. I was wondering, speaking about teenagers, your thoughts of Bianca and how she's risen on the tour. I don't think you have faced each other as of yet, but potentially you could down the road at this tournament. What do you think of her as a competitor, and what have you seen from her this year?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: It's been incredible what she's been able to achieve this year. And even though it's been a little bit interrupted with injury, when she's played she's been ready and been a dominant force.

I think it's an exciting period for a lot of the younger girls coming through. And, yeah, I mean, it's an open tournament. There is so much depth in the WTA now, anyone can win it.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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