BARTY OPTS OUT OF CUP
WORLD No.1 Ash Barty has opted not to lead Australia at the Billie Jean King Cup teams event in Prague next month, another pointer her season may be over.
Barty led Australia to the final of what was formerly the Fed Cup in 2019 before the competition was abandoned last year because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
She has returned home and is unlikely to defend her season-ending WTA championship in Mexico, which would require a second stint of quarantine on return home.
It could interrupt her build-up to the Australian Open next January.
Barty’s decision to skip the 12-team Billie Jean King Cup finals from November 1-6 leaves Wimbledon quarter-finalist Ajla Tomljanovic to spearhead an otherwise inexperienced Australian line-up.
Tomljanovic, the world No.47, will be joined by West Australians Astra Sharma and Storm Sanders alongside debutants Ellen Perez, from Wollongong, and 19-year-old Queenslander Olivia Gadecki.
Captain Alicia Molik sees this as a big opportunity for Tomljanovic, who has had a career-best year, including losing to Barty in the Wimbledon quarter-finals.
“Ajla has had an incredible year,” Molik said.