Australia’s Ash Barty was the favorite to win her home Grand Slam coming into the Australian Open, but the question was always how she would handle the pressure in front of her home fans.
“Huge pressure,” 18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova said on Tennis Channel ahead of the tournament.
“Maybe the last two years the way things played out, she’ll be better able to handle it.” Barty had lost in the quarterfinals in two of the previous three years, and in the semifinals once.
But this year she finally broke through. The world No. 1 rose to meet the moment, handled the pressure and fended off No. 27 seed Danielle Collins, the soon-to-be American No. 1, to win her maiden Australian Open championship, 6-3, 7-6(2), in front of a raucous home crowd in Rod Laver Arena.
The victory ended a 44-year drought for Australians winning the title dating back to Chris O’Neil capturing the women’s crown in 1978. Barty became the first player since Serena Williams in 2017 to win the title without dropping a set, and the first since Sloane Stephens at the 2017 U.S. Open to win her home Slam.
Evonne Goolagong Cawley, the Australian legend who won four of her seven major singles titles at her home Slam, presented Barty with the trophy.
Barty takes home $2.875 million with the title, and Collins $1.575 million.
“I’m so lucky to have so many people here tonight that love me, support me,” Barty said on court. “Pretty bloody special that mom, dad and my sisters are here and I’m pretty [psyched] that they could come down here today.
“I’m an incredibly fortunate and lucky girl to have so much love and in my corner. We did it all together, no one’s changed from our team, it’s been incredible. I love you guys to death, you’re the absolute best in the business and I can’t thank you for all the time and love you’ve put into me.
“And as an Aussie, the most important part of this tournament is being able to share it with so many people and you guys today in the crowd have been nothing shy of exceptional. This crowd is one of the most fun I’ve ever played in front of, and you guys brought me so much joy out here today. You relaxed me, you forced me to play my best tennis and against a champion like Danielle, I know I had to absolutely bring that today.
“This is just a dream come true and I’m so proud to be an Aussie.”
It was the third Grand Slam title for the 25-year-old Barty following victories at the French Open (2019) and Wimbledon (2021). She became the sixth woman in the Open Era to win her first three major finals. Virginia Wade, Lindsay Davenport and Jennifer Capriati won their first three, Naomi Osaka has won her first four and Monica Seles her first six.
Collins, the former two-time NCAA champion at Virginia, will rise to No. 10 in the world on Monday, becoming the No. 1 American in the process. She was the fourth straight American Barty beat en route to the title, following victories over Amanda Anisimova in the fourth road, Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals and Madison Keys in the semis.
Collins had beaten Barty earlier this month in Adelaide, 6-3, 6-4, so she knew she could defeat her, but it didn’t happen on the biggest of stages in Collins’ first major final.
“I owe a big congratulations to Ash on a phenomenal two weeks here, and really a phenomenal couple of years,” the 28-year-old Collins said. “It’s been tremendnous to watch her climb the rankings up to No. 1 and live out here dream. I really admire the player you are and the variety of your game, and hopefully I can implement some of that into mine.”
Barty, in turn, told Collins on court, “Congratulations to Danielle and your team, you’re in the top 10, it’s absolutely where you belong and I know that you’ll be fighting for many more of these in the future.”
Barty earned a break for 4-2 in the first set when Collins double-faulted on break point. Barty controlled the pace from the baseline for much of the first set, hitting deep angled shots and running around to hit her inside-out forehand for winners.
Collins roared out to a double-break lead for 5-1 in the second set and appeared like she might force a decisive third. She served for the set and was up 5-3, 30-15, only to see the lead evaporate as she was broken for a second time.
In the tiebreak, Barty roared out to a 3-0 lead.
Serving at 2-5, Collins stroked a crosscourt forehand wide, setting up four match points. On the next point, Barty hit a crosscourt forehand winner past Collins at the next to capture the title.
She walked around the court, fists clenched, waving to the crowd.
So much for the pressure. Barty is the Australian Open champion. And she seems far from done in terms of winning majors. She needs only the U.S. Open title to complete a career Slam.
“She’s got the game that translates to all surfaces, so there’s no reason why this is the end of her winning major titles,” ESPN’s Mary Joe Fernandez said on air. “She can definitely win the U.S. Open, she can definitely win Wimbledon again and the French as well...She’s got an all-court game with so much variety and she can do it all.”
