Tennis News: World number 1 Ashleigh Barty returns to the field in Australia on Monday (5/25) local time. This time he practiced in clay court.
Ashleigh Barty uploaded a video showing him practicing at clay-court with the message, “Return to clay-court today! It would be rude if not.”
The Grand Slam, which was held at the clay-court, the French Open, should start this week if there is no COVID-19 pandemic. The time of the Grand Slam has been moved to next September for now and the exact date of the Grand Slam is likely to be announced in mid-June along with the renewal of the tennis calendar for the 2020 season.
The French tennis federation said that they remained optimistic about holding the tournament in September, even if it meant holding a tournament with a limited number of spectators.
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Barty won the number one Grand Slam title for the first time in his career at the French Open last season after defeating the young Czech, Marketa Vondrousova.
With that title, Barty became the first Australian to win a single French Open title since Margaret Court in 1973 and the first Australian to win a single number Grand Slam title since Sam Stosur won the 2011 US Open season.
After winning the first Grand Slam title, Barty won the world number 1 spot after winning the title in Birmingham last June.
Before winning the French Open, Barty also won the title in Miami and he closed the 2019 season by winning the WTA Finals.
Previously, Ashleigh Barty reflected on how special the 2019 season was for him during the suspension of the tournament.
Barty won the first Grand Slam title in his career at the French Open last season and became the first Australian to win a French Open since Margaret Court in 1973 and became the first Australian to win a single Grand Slam since Sam Stosur at the 2011 US Open.
Barty also became world number 1 – the first Australian woman to become world number 1 in 43 years – and ended the 2019 season as world number 1.
To AAP, Barty revealed, “I have a lot of time to reflect on last season and how special that season was. The 2019 season was truly extraordinary for my team and me.”
“I want to get back to the field immediately, but health must always be the first priority. Now is a hard time for people all over the world. Nowadays there are more important things than tennis. This is a unique situation, so it’s quite difficult to compare it with anything.”
