‘I hear two voices when I’m playing tennis. I always have. One whispers, ‘Ash, you’re not good enough,’ and the other replies, ‘Yes, you are – come on, Ash!’
I was not sure what to expect when I picked up this book. While I am not a great fan of tennis, I have enjoyed watching Ash Barty play. And I was intrigued to read a memoir from an accomplished young woman who retired from professional tennis still ranked #1 in singles.
In this memoir, Ash Barty deals with the highs and lows of her career in tennis, of the struggles she faced and of the team effort behind her. There’s a humility evident in this memoir: Ash Barty writes of those who have helped her, of the sacrifices her family made to enable her to achieve her dream and of knowing that it was time to quit. This book spans the twenty years between when Ash Barty first picked up a tennis racquet as a five-year-old in Ipswich and her retirement at Melbourne Park after winning the 2022 Australian Open.
‘The people in this crowd make me wonder about that separation professional athletes strive to find, between who we are and what people think of us – the psyche versus the story. They’re two separate entities, of course – the person and the persona – but they’re both real. They overlap, compete and sometimes coalesce.’
I wonder what the future holds for Ash Barty? She is a proud First Nations woman committed to creating sport and education opportunities for youth around Australia. As an advocate for children’s literacy, she’s published the six book Little Ash series for children aged 5+ (illustrated by Jade Goodwin) about school, sport, friendship and family.
Whatever Ash Barty does, I am sure she will tackle with the same purpose and sense of perspective as she did her tennis career.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Tasmanian Bibliophile @Large 
I’m not interested in tennis either, but I think she was smart to recognise when enough was enough. There’s plenty else she can do with her life!
LikeLiked by 2 people