Barty cherishes tennis return with "I missed the routine"

Ashleigh Barty has been sidelined for 11 months due to the global pandemic and she is eager to return to tennis in a few days.

The Australian has been undergoing mandatory quarantine ahead of her return to tennis and recently she spoke to WTA Insider. Naturally, the conversation started with the long layoff and how that impacted the Australian:

"I think my body was a little bit shocked by the volume of hitting tennis balls. The training off-court I kept going all year and I found an eagerness to train again off the court." She explained further:

"It's been a good progression. I'm lucky to have a coach in Tyzz, who has navigated his way through many pre-seasons before. Just knowing how to structure them is really important, to not rush too much at the start."

She was also asked whether she focused more on technical things or just getting back to competition shape to which she responded:

"A bit of both, always. The thing with Tyzz and his coaching method is that it's not always putting your eggs in one basket. It's about being able to have a complete game and a fully developed game and that's what we work for every single day."

With the season start looming she was asked whether she felt some butterflies after such a long layoff:

"It is a different year, without a doubt. There's no way around that. I think we have to, for us, put trust in the process and the routines we've created."

The conversation then shifted to some lighter things where she was asked about the extended vacation time due to the pandemic where Barty explained that she did miss competing:

"I certainly did miss the competition. There were times we had to make some really tough decisions, but I feel like we made those tricky decisions for the right reasons. That's all that matters."

To end things she was asked about her new addition which has been a dog called Origi. She responded with a smile:

"My house is very messy [laughs]. It's been amazing. Origi's been a nice addition to our little wolf pack. She's got a hell of a character. She's a menace. She's intelligent but she still gets away with a lot because of her puppy eyes."