‘My dream is winning Wimbledon,’ says Ashleigh Barty as she admits it took her a while to ‘say it out loud’

Ashleigh Barty applauding

She ticked two major items off her tennis bucket list in 2019, but for Ashleigh Barty there is still one big one to add to her list of achievements as she “dreams” of winning Wimbledon.

Barty won her maiden Grand Slam title last year when she beat Marketa Vondrousova in the French Open final and a few weeks later she topped the WTA Rankings for the first time.

But for the Australian there is one thing missing from her CV and she is finally happy to admit it out loud.

“My dream is winning Wimbledon. Without a doubt,” she told broadcaster ABC.

“It took a long time for me to say that out loud. It took a long time for me to have the courage to say that out loud, but that’s what I want. That’s what I want to work towards.

“Being able to win junior Wimbledon was really special, but it just gave me a taste of what it’s really like.”

Just a few months after winning the biggest title of her career, the Premier Mandatory Miami Open in March, Barty reached her maiden major final at Roland Garros and eased past Vondrousova.

“It doesn’t feel real, still,” the 24-year-old said. “That whole match is a bit of a blur, and the lead-up to that (winning) moment is a little bit lost.

She added: “The best thing was turning around and being able to look at my team, that moment I will never forget.”

Follow us on Twitter @T365Official.

Latest