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WUHAN OPEN

September 22, 2019

Ashleigh Barty

Wuhan, Hubei, China

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How are you feeling heading into this stretch of the season?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Good, good. I think I feel a lot fresher than I was this time last year. I think that's the challenge, make sure you're fresh and ready to go for as many tournaments that you can be.

I'm feeling really good. I know I've played well here in Wuhan in the past before. Looking forward to hopefully another week where I'm down at the business end.

Q. What have the preparations been like since the US Open for this section of the season? How much does the fact that for you your season looks like it's going to be longer than everybody else's because of Fed Cup? How does that impact the mentality?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: I think it's been pretty quiet since US Open, if I'm being honest. I had a very quiet week at home. I was only home for seven days, I think. It was nice to be able to relax with family, practice a little bit.

Yeah, pretty quiet and pretty relaxed, just making sure my body is all right, that physically I'm able to get through this next five or six weeks of the season knowing we have those four events left over. Looking forward to being ready and doing the best I can each one.

Q. What did you think about Kim Clijsters coming back to the tour next season?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, it happened overnight. I woke up in Australia, saw the news. It's exciting. Kim is a player that I would have loved to have played, would have loved to have had the opportunity to play. I know a lot of girls are excited she's coming back.

Hopefully first and foremost her body allows her to do that, she stays injury-free and can get back on the court.

Q. You've played here in Wuhan twice, made a semis and a final. What is about the court or city that gives you that edge?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Oh, I think probably first and foremost for us Aussies, Asia is a relatively easy place to get to. We start off with a pretty easy travel day just getting up here. It's eight or 10 hours, which for us doesn't feel like much at all. There's no real adjustment for time change or things like that. Just means we can kind of start the week feeling really good, feeling really fresh.

I think the conditions here in Wuhan can suit me. I have to make sure I play the right way and do all the right things. The conditions can certainly work in my favor.

Q. What did you make of Bianca Andreescu's run at the US Open and the summer?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: It's remarkable, really was. Vika and I were practicing at the time so I didn't get to watch any of the final. Yeah, I mean, I think from all reports, the way she composed herself at 5-All in that second set was remarkable. It's showing that she's here to stay. She's definitely proven time and time again she's one of the world's best players.

I think, yeah, she's going to be around for a long time, putting herself in that position regularly.

Q. With time and distance, what do you and Craig make of the two weeks in New York? I know you were frustrated with your level, at least chasing a different level throughout the U.S. summer hard court swing? What is your debrief out of that whole section?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: I think obviously Toronto was a little bit disappointing. But I think we understood that we were maybe going there a little bit under-done, kind of run the gauntlet a little bit of trying to battle through the first couple rounds, get yourself into the tournament. We weren't able to do that.

Cincinnati, yeah, I think we got better and better each match. There was still room for improvement. I think come US Open I was finding it more and more.

Not every match was perfect, but that doesn't really matter for me. I was able to win matches and make another fourth round, make another second week of a slam.

Then as well with the doubles, it was a nice top-off. To be in another slam final is super exciting. Vika and I were pretty heartbroken not to be able to get over the line in that one.

All with all, we take positives out of the swing, take positives out of this year, build and continue to work towards this last little period.

Q. Speaking of the doubles, in what's been kind of a hectic breakthrough, how much does maintaining a decent if not healthy doubles schedule provide some stability when you're at these big tournaments, help you work things out on the court mentally in big tournaments like that?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, I mean, I feel like a question I've been asked a lot, in a lot of different ways.

I think for me, I enjoy playing doubles. That's probably the most important thing, the biggest underlying factor: I love playing doubles. I love getting out there.

I've had an extremely successful year with Vika. We've only played a handful of tournaments, but we've done very well. We put ourselves in a position in big events where we've been playing for titles. I think that's one of the best things.

Doesn't matter whether it's singles, doubles, whatever it is, you want to be playing for the titles, you want to be putting yourself in that position.

I love playing doubles. There are times my singles takes priority, of course. There are also times where doubles is just as important for, like you said, working on some specifics, getting some match play.

A lot of the singles girls use it to get extra matches try to clean up their game a little bit.

Q. Specifically coming out of the US Open, did you feel like the extra matches helped work something out? Did you feel technically maybe more sound than you had been?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, it's a bonus week. Absolutely playing those extra I think it was three, four doubles matches in that second week, I felt great. Towards the ends of those matches, I felt like I was striking the ball well.

Obviously singles and did doubles are different games. Different ways or requirements you can move around the court. Geometry is completely different, you see the court in a different way.

For me it's more keeping that stimulation, keeping fresh, seeing the court in all different ways which, without a doubt, will help my singles.

Q. Back to Kim. What do you think is the landscape of the tour that she's going to parachute back into?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: I guess we'll have to wait and see. I think Kim is an absolute champion. She's proven that. Not just in her career, but when she came back and kind of came back again. It's incredible, it really is.

I think deep down she must know she's able to do it because I think a champion of Kim's caliber wouldn't do things kind of halfway. She's going to come all in.

I think probably her biggest challenge, she's always going to be able to strike tennis balls well, without a doubt. Hopefully, touch wood for her, her body stays healthy over these next few months, she can really get that work in.

I'm sure whenever she does start playing again, it's going to be with some real force.

Q. Zhuhai, from your perspective, having that tournament, winning that tournament, how much did that at all impact you or set you up for this year, knowing you had this kind of bank of points going into the following season or the confidence that you gain out of it? What do you make of that tournament, its impact on 2019?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: I couldn't care less about the points, being completely honest. I think for me it was the most perfect way to cap off my best year yet, it really was.

I went into that tournament feeling quite tired. I went into that tournament kind of trying to push for one extra week.

Have to thank Cara Garcia for winning the match the way she did for me, for me to qualify for the semifinals. The stars aligned. Then it was just about going out there and trying to push for the last couple matches for the season, enjoy it.

I've played well both years I've been in Zhuhai. It's been a great way to finish off my year. Now looking forward to having taken that next step, to be in Shenzhen in the finals is really cool.

Q. There's a lot of player perks here at this tournament, foot massage, stuff like that. Have you taken advantage of any of these in the past or will you this week?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: I know my coach, my physio, they've spent, man, an hour and a half, two hours each day getting a foot massage. Wherever I can't find them, I go straight there and have a look for them (smiling).

Myself, I haven't. Last couple years I've been a touch preoccupied with the amount of tennis that I've been playing. Hopefully I have the same problem this year, I'm playing a lot of matches, so I don't have a lot of time to do it.

Q. You said you didn't care much about the points. You may have answered my question. How much would year-end No. 1 mean to you? Is it a target at all at this point in the season?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: I think it's a target without being a target. We've put ourselves in a position where it's a possibility. I mean, I plan my schedule, the last six months of this year, well in advance. I think I'm not going to change it to try and chase it. I'm going to try to do the best that I can in these next couple of events.

If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, it doesn't. It's not going to change the way I rest or I recover or train and prepare for next year.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in Chinese.

Q. Coming back to Wuhan, you are the world No. 1. In some news reports in previous years, after cricket, you came back to tennis. Looking back, do you think you made a good decision?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Definitely. I think for me coming back to tennis was one of the best decisions I ever made. I think it was important for me to have the time off, but more important that I came back on my terms, I worked towards my goals with my team.

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