Ash Barty’s Legacy Comes To Prossie

While the entire tennis-loving world was in shock last week following the announcement that the Queensland born tennis superstar Ash Barty would be retiring at the top of her game, her dad Robert Barty arrived in Proserpine to share the news with a local crowd in a region he once called home.

On a mission to help motivate young children and families to achieve their dreams, Robert Barty, shared his daughter’s inspirational story and also managed to find time to answer the question on everyone’s lips – what will she do next?

Born in Bowen, Rob Barty spent much of his time in the region on the fairway of Proserpine Golf Course as a former amateur state golfer.

“It’s good to come home - I have a big soft spot for the region having grown up in Bowen as a kid,” Rob Barty said.

He moved away from Bowen in the early 80s, starting his family life in Brisbane and Ipswich, and raising his three daughters – one of them the future women’s tennis world number one.

His return to the region came after a discussion with his daughter Ash Barty about how hard it is “living in a little town like Bowen” to make Queensland and Australian teams.

“She said to me, why don’t we, and I mean you, jump in the car and travel around Queensland talking about my story,” Rob said.

“Tell parents, tell kids that anything is possible – you just have to work really hard.”

Rob has now been to over 70 clubs across the state, with only two of those metropolitan clubs.

In the interactive session in Proserpine, Rob told the story of Ash’s life, fielding questions on the star’s journey.

From the story of how she met her long-time junior coach, Jim Joyce, at the West Brisbane Tennis Centre at the age of four, right through to the scream she let out after her winning rally at last year’s Australian Open.

Ash came across as a mythologised sportswoman, destined to be the first Australian winner of the open in over 40 years – but most importantly, her dad reminded, she is a great person.

“When Ash was little, she had five rules from Jim, and they still apply today,” Rob said.

“Number one: have fun, two: be happy, three: be a nice person, four: show respect and be respected, and number five which was last on the list for a reason: if you can play tennis after those four, it’s an added bonus.”

Speculation around whether Barty will pick up another sport in the wake of her retirement at just 25 has been rife in the week since the shock announcement, and the questions flew in from the Proserpine players and parents.

A former Women’s Big Bash League player, cricket has been a forerunner, but it’s golf that seems to be the most obvious choice.

A scratch golfer herself, her swing having wowed even Tiger Woods, it would make sense coming from a golfing family that Ash would pick up the clubs if she does return to the sporting stage.

“She’s the best golfer in the house,” Rob said.

“I suspect she’ll play a bit of golf, but I don’t really know what she’ll do – I suspect she wants to have a family of her own.”

Most importantly, Rob said that Ash wanted to retire so she could spend more time inspiring and helping the young sportspeople of Australia to achieve their goals – especially those of Indigenous descent like herself.

The young Proserpine Tennis players were certainly inspired, and club officials asked Rob to extend an invite to Ash for a round of social.

Robert Barty, father of tennis royalty Ash Barty, arrived in Proserpine to inspire regional kids with his daughter’s story

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