Ashleigh Barty AO

Ash Barty AO was born in Ipswich, Queensland. Through her great-grandmother, Ash is a member of the Ngarigo people, the Aboriginal people of southern New South Wales and north-eastern Victoria.

Now retired from professional tennis, Ash was not yet five when she met junior tennis coach Jim Joyce, who saw great potential in her when she hit the first ball he threw right back.

She was the second Australian tennis player to be ranked No. 1 in the world in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) after fellow Indigenous Australian Evonne Goolagong Cawley AC. She was also a top-10 player in doubles, having achieved a career-high ranking of No. 5 in the world. Ash is a three-time Grand Slam singles champion, the reigning champion at Wimbledon and the Australian Open, and also a Grand Slam doubles champion.

In 2018, Ash was named National Indigenous Tennis Ambassador by Tennis Australia to encourage more Indigenous youth to get active, and to provide opportunities for them to explore their passion and grow their love for the sport.