ASH BARTY’S $16 MILLION ‘SIMPLE LIFE’
The comeback kid made history when she aced the biggest ever payday for a tennis player!
She pocketed a cool $6.4 million in a single tournament last week to become the top paid tennis player in the world but Aussie champion Ash Barty promises it won’t change her simple life – she just needs a “few beers on the couch” to wrap her head around it.
“I’ve got everything I need,” insists the humble superstar, who has earned more than $16 million this year alone, but leads a relatively simple and modest life with boyfriend Garry Kissick in Brisbane.
Her massive prize would be like winning lotto for most people, but for ultimate comeback queen Ash, 23, it was just the icing on the cake on what has been an extraordinary year.
BEERS ON THE COUCH
Her massive win in the WTA Finals in Shenzhen, China, saw her take home the biggest prize ever paid out for a single tournament, but rather than
French Champagne, Ash celebrated with a few beers when she flew home last week to play in the Fed Cup in Perth.
“Give me a week at home with a few beers on the couch where I can kind of relive what has happened in 2019,” she grins, adding, “It’s been a crazy year, it really has... at times it felt like a circus going around and around.”
It’s easy to forget that Ash quit tennis when she was 18, announcing she was taking an “indefinite break” after finding the pressure of performing at the world’s top level during her teenage years too punishing.
But the 18-month break, which included a season playing cricket for the Brisbane Heat, proved to be a game-changer and she returned better than ever and, more importantly, stronger both physically and mentally.
Today, she can claim to be the highest earning tennis player in the world – man or woman – this year, having won $16 million in prize money. That’s more than men’s world No.1 Novak Djokovic has banked this year!
“The amount of zeros you have in the bank account doesn’t change how I’m going to spend my off-season and spend time with my family,” insist Ash, who says she will spoil her threeyear-old niece Lucy and 22-month-old nephew Oscar.
HAPPY AT HOME
“Thankfully they can’t read, but for Christmas they’re getting a new swing set, which they’re pretty excited about now that they’ve got the trampoline and swing set out the back,” she says.
“It’s great that I can buy them things that they love, but I live a pretty simple life. I’m not living an extravagant life.”
Ash, who will spend Christmas at home in Brisbane with Garry and their dogs Ruby, Maxi, Affie and Chino, together with her parents Barry and Josie and older sisters Sara and Ali, doesn’t give a hoot about her newfound riches.
“I’m pretty happy in my little house at home,” she says. “I’ve got everything that I need, I’m pretty boring. I don’t really spend a lot on myself.”
He makes the top four on this season of The Bachelorette, but rugby player Jackson Garlick could be about to cause Angie Kent some serious heartache.
Speaking to Woman’s Day,
a source close to the hunky 25-year-old insists his intentions for being on the show aren’t entirely to win over Angie’s heart, instead revealing Jackson entered the mansion as a form of revenge!
“Beyond boosting his profile, he’s on the show to stick the knife into Married At First Sight
star Ryan [Gallagher],” reveals a source who is close to the reality star, adding that Jackson and the former MAFS
‘If Jackson wins, it will be the ultimate revenge on Ryan’
groom used to be good friends before falling out.
“They were once really good mates, partners in crime... but they haven’t spoken in years.”
According to our insider, Ryan and Jackson both lived and socialised in the same circles in Sydney’s Eastern suburbs but are no longer on speaking terms and have even removed each other from their social media accounts.
The source insists that while he’s definitely turned up the charm for the cameras, Jackson – who last week was seen partying on a yacht in Mexico with NRL star Sam Burgess and a slew of bikini babes – allegedly only expressed interest on going on the show after it was revealed that Bachelorette Angie, 29, had developed feelings for Ryan, 31.
“If he wins, it will be the ultimate revenge on Ryan,” says the source. “Ryan will be beside himself!”
Angie and Ryan were romantically linked just months before filming started on this year’s season, with Woman’s Day previously revealing that Ryan was hassling producers for a spot on the show.
Sources at the time explained Angie was hellbent on having Ryan thrown into the mix and even had the crew on board with the idea, but it was later quashed because executives decided it wasn’t on brand.
Now it looks like poor Angie is set to have her heart broken all over again as Jackson’s true intentions are out in the open.