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Ashleigh Barty Wimbledon 2021
Tennis News, Wimbledon, WTA Tennis Players

‘It was a miracle I could play Wimbledon after injury’, reveals Ash Barty


Wimbledon champion Ashleigh Barty said the “stars aligned” just for her to compete at the tournament after the injury she suffered at the French Open.

The world No. 1 sustained a hip injury ahead of Roland Garros last month, and was forced to retire during her second round match with Magda Linette.

The Australian did not play a grass court event before Wimbledon, but was able to produce a sublime run to her first title at the All England Club.

Barty dropped just two sets during The Championships – and beat Karolina Pliskova in the final to claim her second Grand Slam crown.

“Just even chatting to my team now once we’d come off the court, they kept a lot of cards close to their chest and didn’t tell me a lot of the odds,” the 25-year-old said in her press conference.

“Didn’t tell me a lot of, I suppose, the information they had got from other specialists. There weren’t too many other radiologists in Australia who had seen my injury.

“In a sense, it was a two-month injury. And being able to play here at Wimbledon was nothing short of a miracle, and I think them not telling me that just proved how much we were against the odds.

“And I think now to be playing pain-free through this event was incredible. It’s funny sometimes, the stars align, you can think positively, you can plan.

“And sometimes the stars do align, and you can chase after your dreams. But certainly now chatting to them, it looked a lot less likely that I felt, statistically. So, I think it’s been an incredible month.”


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Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.