tennis

Australian Barty wins Birmingham title to take No. 1 spot from Osaka

7 Comments
By Paul ELLIS

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7 Comments
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Congratulations to her! The way Osaka has been playing lately it was bound to happen. It's not like it's the end of her career and hopefully she can regain her form and get back to No 1 again!

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Awesome !!

the first Australian woman since Evonne Goolagong in 1976 to be world number one

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Congrats!

Shes the real thing, with the commitment and fortitude of a champion. No dithering, hand-wringing, or concern about whether shes having enough "fun".

7 ( +8 / -1 )

Tennis Australia must be super happy now. A grand slam winner and also world no. 1. Look at all the money it is going to make. Well, I guess after having to deal with Nick Kyrgios and Tomic the Tank Engine (Bernard Tomic), it kinda deserve it.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Well done to her!

Even more extraordinarily, it comes less than five years since she took time out from tennis to play cricket in 2014.

Someone should put a picture of her on a manzai slipper that parents can use to slap Japanese sports coaches who say that kids must do one club only and that is the only route to success. It should come as no surprise that the physical skills, dedication, and determination that make you a success in one sport can be transferred to another. Coaches also spread the nonsensical myths about the cost of missed training. Five years after missing lots of training to do something else, Barty is World No. 1.

The ironic thing with Japanese clubs is that they are promoted on the idea that they teach discipline, which is assumed to be completely transferable. If you ganbaru at club, you will be able to ganbaru at everything else. I think there is quite a difference between baseball seven days a week and seven days a week at a black company.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Firstly congrats on achieving # 1.

But ot me as equally impressive is the way she has done it.

As an 18 year old she decided she needed a break from the grind and was fully supported by her family, friends and team. She took up cricket for the first time and incredibly made her way into the womens semi-pro league after a year - from scratch. Like - no one can do that.

Refreshed at the grand old age of 20 she returned and has spent the last 3 years on her journey to the top.

One interesting point in all of this she always, and I mean always, talks about her team. Her victories are team victories, her success is the team success. She's just one member of a team.

Can't help but think her hiatus from tennis and engaging a new world in cricket where teamwork is paramount, has grown her mentally beyond her years.

Perhaps a remedy for the down spots many players struggle to overcome.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

Congrats to Barty and her team. Getting to the top is difficukt but more difficult is staying at the top. As she has shown, she has the mental fortitude to stay at the top.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

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