Ashleigh Barty launches eponymous foundation to 'help as many young Australians as possible'

Two years ago, Ashleigh Barty wrote her name in Australia's history books—and achieved a lifelong goal—when she became the first woman in 44  years to win the Australian Open singles title.

Now, she's hoping to do all she can to impact future generations of Australians as they chase their own big dreams.

The former world No. 1 officially launched her eponymous charity foundation with an event at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club during the first week of this year's Melbourne fortnight with a goal of helping "as many young Australians as possible" through the combination of sport and education—which are two of Barty's biggest passions.

"Now, being able to bring it all together is really exciting," Barty said.

“I don’t want to put a goal or an expectation or a ceiling on where we go. To be honest, I’m not sure where we’ll end up yet.

“It’s about the journey, it’s about growing and doing the best that we can. We’re all very new to this—my team, my family, the team in the AB Foundation—so it’s all exciting for us, it’s all new. And I think we have the energy, we have the desire to do as well as we can, and that’s all we can ask.”

Barty, who married longtime partner Garry Kissick and gave birth to a son, Hayden, in her 18 months of retirement so far, said that her foundation will not just focus on tennis, but that one of its goals will be to provide racquets and refurbish courts in communities in need. The foundation has already started work with the government in her native Queensland to help facilitate educational resources for children, too.

“A big part of my growing and learning as an athlete was being able to be surrounded by such good people that provided me with so much opportunity,” Barty said.

“I feel like now I’m excited that I get to do that; I get to commit my time in a positive way and give back ... It’s nice now that we’re finally here. It’s been a lot of work, it’s absolutely worth the wait, and I can’t wait to kickstart.”

With the launch, Barty joins several other high-profile WTA players who have lent their names to a charitable endeavor. Sloane Stephens founded the Sloane Stephens Foundation in 2013, which is a recognized organization within the USTA Foundation that brings free and low-cost tennis and education services to under-resourced youth, while Elina Svitolina, Marta Kostyuk and Dayana Yastremska all have their own foundations that now work to provide humanitarian relief to their home country of Ukraine since the Russian invastion in 2022.