Ashleigh Barty admits she regrets "not playing better" at the Brisbane International during her career and has urged Australian players to cherish every moment they get to play at home.
The former three-time Grand Slam champion- who was born in Ipswich (a city near Brisbane)- made a total of five appearances at the Australian WTA 500 tournament.
In 2012, a 15-year-old Barty received a wildcard for the Brisbane qualifying event, losing to Vania King in the first round. Two years later, the former world No. 1 made her main draw debut at the tournament and reached the round-of-16. She also had round-of-16 outings at the tournament in 2017 and 2020, and also picked up a first-round loss in 2018.
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Since shockingly retiring from pro tennis in early 2022, Barty has become an ambassador for the WTA 500 tournament in Brisbane and she regularly attends the tournament that kicks off in the first week of the season.
Barty: I always wish that I had played better in Brisbane
It is so much fun playing at home and I always wish that Id played better at the Brisbane International, but it wasnt meant to be," the Australian tennis legend told Australian media.
But something that I always appreciated was that we had the opportunity to play at home. Not every single girl in the world gets an opportunity to play in their backyard so for those Queenslanders, especially, its a special week. Regardless of whether you win or lose, you just get to come out here and get yourself sorted and play, enjoy, compete in front of your friends and family. Its pretty fun.
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Barty may not have enjoyed much success in Brisbane, but she still posted some great results in Australia. Just before retiring in 2022, the former world No. 1 won the Australian Open. By doing so, she became Australia's first woman since 1978to triumph in singles at Melbourne Park.
Barty also won Adelaide in two out of her three appearances.
