Adelaide will host a Barty Party next week.
World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty will make her long-awaited comeback on Friday, January 29th at the star-studded A Day at the Drive charity exhibition at the Memorial Drive Tennis Center in Adelaide.
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The one-day exhibition will star fellow world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka, Simona Halep, Dominic Thiem and Jannik Sinner.
Collectively, they bring an eye-popping 67 Grand Slam championships on court.
The exhibition event will be split into two sessions to reduce the number of fans in accordance with government safety protocols.
There will two singles matches in each session—and possibly some mixed doubles too.
It will be Barty’s first on-court appearance since she lost to Petra Kvitova in the Doha semifinals in February, 2020.
A year ago, Barty beat Dayana Yastremska to win her eighth career title in Adelaide. She reached the Australian Open semifinals bowing to eventual-champion Sofia Kenin and seemed poised for another big season.
Then came the coronavirus pandemic, which shut down the sport until August. When the pro circuit resumed, Barty remained home in Australia.
Now, she'll make her comeback before home fans.
“I am looking forward to playing my first match for the 2021 season in Adelaide,” Barty said. “I have fond memories from the Adelaide International last year and it will be great to get back on court here for A Day at the Drive.”
Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve