Ashleigh Barty backs Australian Open rules while also defending player's right to choose vaccination

Ashleigh Barty is back home in Australia where she is recovering after a long and exhausting season that saw her win the 2021 Wimbledon.

It was a spectacular season for Ashleigh Barty with the Australian winning several notable trophies. None was bigger than Wimbledon but her proudest one might be bringing an Olympic medal back home to Australia. While recovering from the season Barty spoke with reporters at her home on many different topics. Vaccination was a major one and on the matter Barty said:

“I didn’t feel like there was a need for me to tell everyone whether I’ve been vaccinated or not. I have been vaccinated, I have been all my life. At the end of the day, it’s part of your medical history, there’s no necessity to share it. People make different decisions for different reasons, so you have to respect that. It’s personal to me. I had my vaccine in April, I had no issues. I was fit and healthy and I was doing that for the people around me and to make sure my family was safe. There’s no judgment from me."

Barty was also asked about the very strict rules that will be imposed during the 2022 Australian Open and while understanding of the difficulty of them for players coming to Australia Barty defended the rules:

“We know the team at the Australian Open will make good decisions and make sure the tournament is as safe as possible within the guidelines and the players that are here are going to do a fantastic job. I have to abide by the rules like everyone else."

Barty also touched upon 2022 in general saying that she hopes the summer will be the best they ever had:

“We hope this summer will be our biggest and best yet and we’re looking forward to getting into it. Being at home in Brisbane, preparing for the Australian summer, is where I want to be."