Finally, Australia’s Ash Barty feels like she belongs on the WTA tour.
The daily grind of being a professional tennis player once became too much for Barty.
But the 21-year-old says she couldn’t be more excited after her world ranking rose from 271th to a career high No.23 in a stellar 2017 comeback.
“This year has been my best year,” she said.
“There haven’t been too many disappointing weeks or matches.
“I feel like my ranking reflects where I truly am now and I feel comfortable on the tour now.”
Not so long ago, that wasn’t the case.
The former Wimbledon junior champion took an indefinite break from tennis in 2014, later saying the tour had become “a bit of a slog”.
In need of a mental break Barty switched her focus to cricket and played the 2015-16 season with women’s Big Bash League outfit Brisbane Heat as a batter.
Barty returned to tennis in early 2016 but mostly in doubles.
She made modest goals when she launched a full scale singles comeback this year – modest goals that quickly had to be reassessed.
“A goal for us was to hit the top 100 by the end of the year, we obviously hit that and moved the focus to the top 50,” Barty said.
“We were able to hit our benchmarks reasonably quickly this year and in emphatic fashion.
“It was nice to do that and then consolidate – I feel I have worked hard for it.
“Top 20 is the next one.”
It seems the sky is the limit for Barty.
She toppled three world top 10 players – including reigning French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko – on her way to the recent WTA Wuhan Open final.
Barty is now just one place behind top ranked Australian, world No.22 Daria Gavrilova.
“I just feel fresh and motivated and ready to get back into tennis again,” Barty said.
Barty announced she would launch her Australian Open countdown at the 2018 Brisbane International.
Not that she is not done with 2017 just yet.
She is reportedly hoping for a wildcard into the WTA’s Zhuhai tournament from October 30.
It is contested by the highest ranked players not involved in the eight-strong WTA Championships in Singapore.
Barty will contest the WTA Championships doubles in Singapore with fellow Australian Casey Dellacqua from October 22.
