Australia’s Ashleigh Barty has the capability of one day reaching No.1 in the world, according to seven-time grand slam champion John Newcombe.
The 21-year-old has enjoyed a breakthrough year on the tour. Rising over 200 places in the WTA rankings to a career best of 17th in the world. In March Barty won her first WTA title at the Malaysian Open, defeating Japan’s Nao Hibino. Following on from that, she also reached the final of Premier tournaments in Birmingham and Wuhan. It was in Wuhan where she illustrated her potential after defeating three top 10 players (Johanna Konta, Karolina Pliskova and Jelena Ostapenko) on route to the final.
Barty’s rise follows a 15-month break she took after losing her passion for the sport. By the age of 18, she had already reached two grand slam finals in the doubles and broke into the world’s top 200. During her time away she played in the women’s cricket league for Brisbane Heat and coached tennis. Despite her experience of cricket, she eventually rediscovered her love for tennis before announcing her return to the sport in February 2016.
The achievements of Barty since her comeback are ones that hasn’t gone unnoticed by Newcombe. In a recent interview with the Australian Associated Press, the 73-year-old believes she has what it takes to go to the top of the game.
“She went away from the sport and came back with no expectations and it’s just developed for her,” Newcombe told AAP.
“Watching her play, she’s only touching the edges of how good she could be.
“She has the all-court game and as she adds the other things that are necessary, she could become number one.”
Newcombe’s enthusiasm for Barty is one that also comes with a caution. He has warned against placing too much pressure on the Australian No.1. Stating that her game is still a work in progress.
“All the little components need to be improved on, so let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” he said.
“When people get ahead of themselves, it puts pressure on the athlete.
“My advice would be put all the pieces together that need to be put together to strengthen anything that’s a weakness.
“It could take another two years or it could happen quicker, but don’t think it’s going to happen immediately.
“It could require a tremendous amount of hard work, but the potential is there.
Barty is currently ranked inside the top 20 in both singles and doubles. In singles, she has won 31 out of 46 main draw matches played in 2017. Enabling her to rise from 271 to 17 in the WTA rankings.
The 21-year-old will start her 2018 season at the Brisbane International.
