Ash Barty will go down in history as one of Australia’s greatest sportspeople, there’s no doubt about it.
As the first Australian to win Wimbledon in 41 years (proceeding the great Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1980), and the first woman to be ranked number one globally in more than 45 years, her achievements truly speak for themselves.
But to come this far, Barty had a legion of fans behind her who’ve believed in her since day dot—and the very first of those were her family.
As Barty continues to make history for Australia, we took a look back at her roots, and to the people who founded the original ‘Barty Party’, paving the way for the rest of the country to join in.
Ash Barty’s family
Ash Barty was born to Josie and Robert Barty on April 24, 1996. She has two older sisters, Sara and Ali. They grew up in the suburb of Springfield, which is located in Ipswitch, Queensland.
Sporting prowess was already in the blood: Ash’s parents were successful athletes having both previously represented Queensland in golf.
Ash’s great-grandmother on her father’s side was a member of the Ngaragu people from southern NSW and north-eastern Victoria, and when Ash was younger, she and her sisters registered with the clan and learned everything they could about their Indigenous roots, per SMH.
“My heritage is really important to me,” Ash has previously said. “I just think it’s important to do the best I can to be a good role model.”
These days, Ash’s mother, Josie now works as a radiographer, while her dad previously worked for the State Library in Queensland.
But their other (and very rewarding) full-time job has been cheering Ash on from the sidelines as she became one of the greatest tennis players in Australian history.
Per Essentially Sports, Ash’s parents first introduced her to her junior coach, Jim Joyce, who undoubtedly played a big part in shaping her into the player she is today. She worked with him until she was 15. Then, former professional tennis player Jason Stolenberg began coaching her.
When Ash won Wimbledon in 2021—one of her biggest career moments to date–her Australia-based family were sadly unable to watch her from the sidelines in London due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. That said, the family celebrating her win as they watched from a home on the Gold Coast was just as, if not more emotional as they witnessed the historic moment.
Watch a video of the moment below.
Speaking to 4BC about the nail-biting Wimbledon win, Robert explained: “At the end of the match, I could not remember the last point, and now I’ve seen it a hundred times. All we do is watch her play because we love watching her play tennis.”
Barty the aunty
In 2019, Ash became an aunty for the first time to her sister’s baby girl, named Olivia.
The athlete introduced her to the world in the best way—by taking her to an after match press conference.
At the time, Ash had just been kicked out of the 2020 Australian Open after losing to Sofia Kenin, but little Olivia put things into perspective.
“It’s my newest niece, my sister just had her, 11 or 12 weeks ago,” she told press as she cradled her in the media room. “This is what life’s about, it’s amazing.”
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves—and we have no doubt the Barty family, along with Ash’s fiancee Gary Kissick will be the first ones cheering her on with the rest of Australia as she continues to do the country proud.
