Ash Barty to visit Geelong on memoir tour

INTERNATIONAL tennis champion Ash Barty will make a stop in Geelong next week as part of the book tour for her just-released memoir.

This year’s Australian Open winner describes My Dream Time as “a tennis story, a family story, a teamwork story” and “the story of how I got to where and who I am today”, and will discuss the book in a special event at GMHBA Stadium hosted by Dymocks Waurn Ponds.

“I’m only in my mid-20s, and some might think that’s young to write a memoir. Who does that, right?” Barty wrote on the HarperCollins website.

“But for me and my team it’s always been important to reflect on every part of the journey, especially the end. In that context, the timing is perfect to share my story, from the first time I picked up a racquet as a five-year-old girl in Ipswich to the night I packed up my tennis bag at Melbourne Park after winning the 2022 Australian Open.

“This book gives me a chance to look back at every moment of the 20 years in between, and to think carefully through the highs and lows, the work and the play, the smiles and the tears.”

Barty said telling her story was also an opportunity to not only thank the people who meant the most to her but to honor them “as an integral part of that tale, as the very secret behind my success”.

“Some of them you might know – such as my longtime coach, Craig Tyzzer – and some of them you might not – like my first childhood coach, Jim Joyce. There are mates like Casey Dellacqua and Alicia Molik. Mentors such as tennis icon Evonne Goolagong Cawley and mindset coach Ben Crowe. My parents and sisters and my husband have sacrificed as much as I have over the years – this book is also for them.

“My Dream Time is about finding the path to being the best I could be, not just as an athlete but as a person, and to consider the way those identities overlap and compete.”

My Dream Time: a memoir of tennis and teamwork, published by HarperCollins, went on sale this week.

In Conversation with Ash Barty will be held at the Presidents’ Room, GMHBA Stadium on Monday, November 7 from 6-8.30pm.

Tickets can be booked through Eventbrite – for more information, head to the Dymocks Waurn Ponds page on Facebook at facebook.com/dymockswaurnponds