World No.1 Ash Barty has vowed to donate any money she wins at her first tournament of 2020 to those affected by the bushfires causing havoc in Australia.
The reigning French Open champion will be aiming to claim her first ever title on home soil at the Brisbane International, which will officially get underway on Monday. The event is taking place as the country struggles to cope with the fires which has been causing havoc since September. 24 people have been killed and more than 12,000 homes have been destroyed. As a result of the crisis, many tennis players have vowed to join in with the fundraising with Barty being the latest.
“We have been kind of sitting down and thinking and with my team, with my family and everything and trying to think of ways that we can help,” Barty said.
“Obviously there have been some really great initiatives from cricketers, tennis players, golfers, soccer players, all over the country people trying to help out and I think as well we have come to the decision that any of my prize money here in Brisbane will be donated to the Red Cross to go towards the families and homes that have been affected.”
Earlier this week Nick Kyrgios pledged to donate $200 for every ace he hit during the Australian summer. A gesture that has since been followed by other top players such as Sam Stosur, Alex de Minaur, Karolina Pliskova and Simona Halep. Meanwhile, Tennis Australia has confirmed that they will be hosting a series of events over the coming weeks to raise money.
On the court, Barty could be in for a tough time in her quest to win the Brisbane title. Standing in her way could be meetings with Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitova and Elina Svitolina. However, this year’s tournament is different to past editions. Due to the city also hosting the ATP Cup, first round matches will be played on the outside courts. Then the Pat Rafter Arena will be used later in the week when the men’s team event moves to Sydney.
“The qualifying’s usually on the outside courts and we’re usually practising on the outside courts anyway. So I actually don’t think it really matters which court it is. The size of the court is the same.” Said Barty, who has a first round bye.
“Obviously, it brings an opportunity for the public to see more players out in the practice courts out in those two show courts… and they’re beautiful courts. I know that they have added some more seating into the stadium court to be able to accommodate more people to be able to watch on that show court one.”
The 23-year-old is hoping for a solid start in Brisbane ahead of the first grand slam of the year. At the Australian Open she will be bidding to become the first home player to win a singles title since 1978.
“I know that I’ve done all of my work and all of my training well,” she said.
“I’ve done it to the best of my ability, and now it’s about coming out there and competing.
“That’s why we do all the hard work. It’s why we put in all the hours, just to come out and enjoy the competition.”
Barty is one out of six top 10 players entered into the Brisbane main draw this year. Her best performance at the tournament was reaching the quarter-finals back in 2013.
