Ash Barty appearance at Australian Open final sends tennis world into frenzy

Australian tennis great Ash Barty (pictured left) received a huge ovation for her return on Rod Laver Arena for the women's Australian Open final. (Images: Getty Images/@AustralianOpen)

Ash Barty has been granted a heroes welcome back on Rod Laver Arena after presenting the trophy ahead of the women's final Elena Rybakina and Aryan Sabalenka. Barty stunned the tennis world after she retired following her historic Australian Open win.

Barty was the reigning Wimbledon and Australian Open champion at the time of her retirement, but the Aussie stepped away from the sport and hasn't looked back. While Barty has denied any chance of making a return to tennis, she has made an appearance in Melbourne during the Australian Open.

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And in a surprise move, Barty received a raucous ovation as she lifted the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup at Melbourne Park on Saturday night and symbolically moved it to the next champions podium.

Barty received a huge ovation, in front of women's tennis pioneer Billie Jean King, and was widely praised for her appearance following her departure from the sport.

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Ahead of the Australian Open, Barty announced her next career move, which was forming a partnership with Tennis Australia that will see her mentor players and coaches from the governing body's development pathway. The Aussie tennis champion announced her shock retirement last March, and revealed last month that she's expecting her first child with husband Garry Kissick.

But that doesn't mean she's leaving tennis forever, with Tennis Australia revealing the new partnership with Barty that will see her foster the next wave of local talent. Barty's former coaches Craig Tyzzer and Jason Stoltenberg will also be involved in the program.

Ash Barty (pictured right) made an appearance with Evonne Goolagong Cawley (pictured left) during day three of the 2023 Australian Open. (Photo by Kim Landy/Getty Images)

Elena Rybakina seeking to emulate Ash Barty

Women's tennis is looking at a new superstar in Rybakina and the humble 23-year-old is looking to match one of Barty's feats to end her miraculous run to the Australian Open final. Rybakina became one of tennis' big names after winning her maiden grand slam title at Wimbledon last year.

However, Rybakina didn't earn ranking points from her Wimbledon triumph and languished outside the World Top 10. The 23-year-old entered the Australian Open ranked World No.25, but has shown she is one of the most in-form players on the WTA Tour having defeated big names such as Victoria Azarenka, Jelena Ostapenko and World No.1 Iga Swiatek.

And the soft-spoken Kazakhstan tennis sensation has entered this year's Australian Open with more experience under the spotlight. "Everything was new at Wimbledon. Now I more or less understand what to expect," the Russian-born Kazakh said.

Rybakina succeeded Ash Barty as Wimbledon champion last year, following the Australian's sudden retirement from the sport. Incredibly, Rybakina now has the opportunity to take the other title Barty won before her retirement.

with AAP

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