Barty pumped for tennis return at Australian Open

Ashleigh Barty is raring to go at the Australian Open in a bid to win the Grand Slam after an 11-month layoff.

While no tennis player had a usual season in 2020 for Barty it was even more so as the player sat out most of the year. She even skipped the French Open where she was the defending champion. Despite not playing for a long time she doesn't think it will matter much:

"I feel like I've done all the work. I feel like we've ticked the boxes and I'm feeling like every single year we continue to develop my game and it's better and better. Obviously, I haven't played competitive tennis for a year now so it's going to be a challenge but we also know that hopefully again it will be a long season and we don't have to panic if we don't get the perfect start."

Similar to last year she will be the top seed but she explained how that doesn't increase the pressure she feels:

"Yeah, look, they can think whatever they like. If they expect me to win the tournament, then that's their expectations. But mine certainly aren't that for now".

She explained further:

"It's about doing the right things right from the start, from the very first match, and whether I win the match or not, if I go through the right processes and do things the way we've always done it, I'll sleep well at night regardless of the results."

She ended the interview with by saying:

"So there's no stresses, no concerns for me. I just try and focus on what I can well, what I know to do and I know it's going to be a little bit rusty and that's okay. But we'll go out there and give it a crack and see how we go."