Barty finds it ‘tricky’ to maintain training intensity in shutdown


Barty finds it ‘tricky’ to maintain training intensity in shutdown

Ash Barty is getting it tricky to retain high intensity in training during the lockdown but the Women’s World number one believes when tennis resumes after the COVID-19 pandemic, she will be back to her self with a flick of a switch.

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Similarly to other sports across the world, professional tennis was kept at a halt in early March due to the virus. It will be postponed until mid-July.

While Australian Barty’s partner Gary Kissick is a golfer, he has seen her game improve during the lockdown in Brisbane, her tennis training is in “a little bit of a holding pattern.”

“It’s kind of tricky to train with the same intensity as always,” Barty, who turned 24 on Friday, told the Sunday Herald Sun.

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“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, he added.

Barty, which let drift her into the top 10 in the rankings before she latched the top spot a few months later, shut down did not let her return to the United States to uphold title at the Miami Open.

Barty also won her maiden Grand Slam title in Paris last June.

“Just kind of sitting back, this is really bizarre,” she said.

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“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, she added.

Barty said she was in regular touch with her fellow players as she handles with the lockdown.

All these girls I’ve had really good relationships with and am good friends with on a personal level. We’re also chatting about what could be next for us and everyone is trying to get that new information,” she said.

“Overall, it’s been a bit of an adjustment but also lucky that it’s a time where you get to appreciate the little things in life, which is your health and your family,” she concluded.

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