"It's a challenge without a doubt" - Barty ahead of Volvo Car Open

Ashleigh Barty is enjoying some successful time in America where she defends her Miami Open title but she understands the challenge of the clay season.

It has been a good fortnight for Ashleigh Barty in the US where she successfully defended her Miami Open trophy. Now she is set to make only her 3rd appearance at the Volvo Car Open in Charleston, her first since 2013. Speaking at the media day she said:

"It is a challenge, without a doubt. Even doing a gym session this morning, I just had a quick chat with my trainer last night."

On the event itself she said she is excited to play:

"Coming here to Charleston, we're excited to play. It's a beautiful city here. I love playing here. I've played here a couple of times when I was a little bit younger and have been desperate to get back. It'll be a quick transition, but one that I look forward to."

Barty expects growing pains on clay as she knows she will not play her best straight away:

"I think we have to obviously be patient this week and not feel like we're rushing into trying to feel like we're playing our best clay-court tennis straight away. It's important to let the body adjust. But it's also a really fun week where you can start experimenting with how are you going to adjust to playing, adjust your game to play on clay as well."