Ashleigh Barty would have been in the thick of her preparations to defend her French Open crown at this time of the year but it has been cancelled.
Ashleigh Barty of Australia competes during the women's singles semifinal between Ashleigh Barty of Australia and Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus at the 2019 WTA Wuhan Open tennis tournament in Wuhan of central China's Hubei Province, on Sept. 27, 2019. (Xinhua/Xiong Qi)
Staying fit and training with the same intensity as would normally be the case is “tricky” during the shutdown, World no.1 Ashleigh Barty said. Barty is in her hometown Brisbane and like other tennis players, is waiting out the unique period where the sport has come to a halt due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s kind of tricky to train with the same intensity as always,” the 24-year-old told the Sunday Herald Sun. “Obviously, we’re still not sure when we’ll go back.
“Now, it’s about maintaining for if and when we get an opportunity to play again this year, you can kinda flick that switch and go from there.”
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Barty would have been in the thick of her preparations to defend her French Open crown at this time of the year. The clay court Grand Slam was to be held from May 4 to June 7 but it has since been postponed to September 20 to October 4, making it the last Grand Slam of the year. The Wimbledon was cancelled for the first time since the Second World War.
Barty was also the defending champion at the Miami Open which was to start on March 23 but was cancelled. “Just kind of sitting back, this is really bizarre,” she said. “You’re preparing for that (hardcourt) swing and then you’re on a plane back to Australia.
“It’s different for everyone. For tennis players, there’s that uncertainty. We need for pretty much the whole world to be clear before we can start our tour again.
“Domestic competitions have the chance to get up running again, but for a global sport it’s a bit unique to be in that holding pattern.”
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