"I hope she's okay" says Ashleigh Barty on Peng Shuai

Ashleigh Barty elected to call time on her season a bit early in order to recover and rest up in her native Australia. The number one player in the world decided to skip over the WTA Finals but she's not been forgetting about tennis completely. In a recent chat with Tennis Australia, Barty confirmed she has been preparing for the upcoming season:

“I’ve still been training every day but have managed to have quality time with family and friends. I’ve been coaching my niece Lucy and a few of her friends every weekend which has been fun, seeing the smiles on their little faces when they play is what the sport is all about."

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Barty was also asked about the Peng Shuai situation and on that Barty briefly commented:

"We are all thinking of Peng Shuai and hoping she is okay. Peng Shuai is part of the tennis family, she has been on the tour for a long time and is someone we all know and respect. The most important thing right now is that she is safe”.