🌟 Why Ashleigh Barty Is Not Your Average Superstar

Ashleigh Barty doesn’t have any interest in the spotlight that often comes with being a superstar athlete. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS] In today’s FOX Sports Insider with Martin Rogers: Ashleigh Barty, the world’s No. 1-ranked women’s tennis player, plays like a superstar, but doesn’t live like one ... we take a look at what it’s like to participate in a Home Run Derby and All-Star Game ... and we celebrate the anniversary of “The Decision.” There are a lot of remarkable things about the finest player in women’s tennis and the most distinct one of all is how unremarkable she actually is. That’s not an insult to Ashleigh Barty, its quite the opposite. The world No. 1, virtually unknown outside her sport, is a superstar who chooses not to be, for the most spectacular, awesome reason there is. On Thursday, Barty defeated Angelique Kerber in the Wimbledon semifinals to put her one victory away from what would be her second career major. She plays with a level of consistent excellence no other player on tour has been able to match. Win or lose against Karolina Pliskova on Saturday, she’ll go streets ahead in the top spot on the world list. If she does win, there will be an outpouring of celebration in Australia, a country that adores sports and lauds its champions. Yet don’t expect Barty’s life to change much, because, well, she doesn’t want it to. Because that awesome reason I mentioned, the one that makes her perhaps the most down to earth athlete you’ll find anywhere, is quite simple. She just likes her life so much she sees no reason to change it, regardless of her 83 weeks enshrined as the best player on the planet. [STORY IMAGE 1] When she has some spare time she goes to watch Australian football matches, sitting among the crowd in the regular seats, with a beer in hand, yelling support for her beloved Richmond Tigers. She used to get invited to star-studded dinners and events all the time, until people grasped the fact that she virtually never accepted, preferring nights at home with a good book, her boyfriend Gary Kissick and their pet dogs. With all the money at stake in tennis – Saturday’s winner will pocket $2.34 million - it is easy for so much to get lost in the quest for success. Priorities gets twisted, realities become mangled into pits of paranoia and self-doubt. A few years back, as she was just starting to emerge as a real contender, Barty began to feel the squeeze. Tennis wasn’t fun anymore, all the travel and the incessant schedule meant any hope of a normal teenage life was slipping away. [STORY IMAGE 2] And so she took the extraordinary decision to walk away from it all, giving up the game for nearly two years to just live her life, making ends meet by playing semi pro cricket and using her free time to do whatever she wanted – hanging out with friends, fishing, playing golf. By the time she realized she did love tennis after all and wanted to get back to it, her new, refreshed outlook propelled to a spectacular run of progress that has taken her all the way to the top. “This is my dream,” Barty said after her semifinal win. “I'm in an extremely fortunate position that I'm getting to do what I love, getting to do what I dreamt as a kid. So, I think I've just got a whole lot of gratitude for the fact that I get to come out here and do what I love.” It is kind of a shame that Barty isn’t more famous, only because she carries messages of positivity we could all benefit from. She is kind and considerate and loved among fellow players, even amid the cutthroat world of the tour. The lack of fame is a reflection of a couple of things. The first is that the modern world confers most attention to the loudest personalities, which are sometimes also the most deserving but quite often not. The second is that she simply doesn’t seem to have any interest in the spotlight and the high life, and doesn’t say anything demeaning or disrespectful. She has just over 100,000 Twitter followers, a reasonable number, but dwarfed by the following of the likes of Serena Williams (11.7 million) and Naomi Osaka (2.5 million on Instagram). [STORY IMAGE 3] “(She is) a pretty normal person doing extraordinary things,” former pro Alicia Molik, captain of the Australian squad in the Billie Jean King Cup team event,[told the Sydney Morning Herald](. In the interests of journalistic balance, I should probably try to find something about Barty that doesn’t paint her in such a glowing light, just to even things out a bit. But there doesn’t seem to be a lot of ammunition there, and such a search would likely be a monumental waste of time. There were a couple of surprising headlines this week centering around Barty and an “ugly” dispute, which, upon closer inspection, turned out to be a ruckus about how the quarterfinal scheduling appeared to unfairly disadvantage her opponent Ajla Tomljanovic, something Barty had no control over. [STORY IMAGE 4] In Australia, there is some nostalgia this week, given that it was 50 years since Evonne Goolagong, like Barty a member of the country’s indigenous Aboriginal community, lifted the trophy on Wimbledon’s hallowed lawns. Barty knows about the history, knows what it means to her country, but is also able to keep things in perspective. She will go into the final as a [-225 favorite with FOX Bet]( and if she pulls it off she might become a bit more well-known … or not. For an athlete who wants to play like a superstar, but not live like one, it doesn’t make much difference either way. [STORY IMAGE 5] Here’s what others have said ... Angelique Kerber, Professional Tennis Player (on Ash Barty): “I was trying to playing my game. But she had always a good answer.” Jon Ralph, Herald Sun (On Ash Barty): “What a freakish talent. And what a flawless role model.” Emma Kemp, The Guardian: “Ash Barty’s resilience and reliability makes us cheer each quiet fist pump.” Tumaini Carayol, The Guardian: “This year Barty has handled all the challenges in the tournament she has long been desperate to win. Fifty years after Evonne Goolagong’s triumph, she has given herself the chance to emulate it.” [IN OTHER WORDS] - To bounce back in Game 2 of the Finals, the Bucks need to fix their offense, which means Jrue Holliday hitting shots. [FOX Sports NBA Writer Yaron Weitzman has the story](. - Before Major League Baseball’s best players gather in Denver, [FOX Sports MLB Writer Ben Verlander describes what it’s like to participate in a Home Run Derby and All-Star Game](. - Devin Booker had to learn how to be selfless at Kentucky. Now, that approach is paying dividends, [FOX Sports NBA Writer Melissa Rohlin writes](. [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( Whether you loved it, hated it, or just flat-out didn’t care about it, the bottom line is that LeBron James’ announcement surrounding him leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers and “taking his talents to South Beach” is something that NBA fans will always remember. It was this day, 11 years ago, that ESPN aired a live television special called “The Decision,” where James announced that he was leaving the Cavs to play for the Miami Heat. James went on to win two titles with the Heat and then returned to Cleveland, where he won another championship in 2016. Do you remember where you were for “The Decision?” We sure do! [VIEWER'S GUIDE] Philadelphia Phillies at Chicago Cubs (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET) Bryce Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies take on Kris Bryant and the Chicago Cubs. Milwaukee Bucks at Phoenix Suns (ABC, 9 p.m. ET) Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks look to even up the series when they take on Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns in Game 2 of the NBA Finals. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by [FOX Bet]( Phoenix Suns at Milwaukee Bucks Phoenix Suns Money Line and Under 222.5 Points: +150 Chris Paul and the Phoenix Suns looked outstanding in Game 1, dominating the Bucks from start to finish en route to an impressive 118-105 win. It’s tough not to like the Suns in Game 2 on their home court, especially after what we saw from them on Tuesday night. With that said, look for both coaches to make some necessary adjustments, especially on the defensive side of the ball. FOX Bet is offering a bet for the Phoenix Suns to win and the under of 222.5 points. Go ahead and lock this bet in! [WHAT THEY SAID] “Tennis is mostly mental. You win or lose the match before you even go out there.” — Venus Williams [FOLLOW FOX SPORTS] [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( Download FOX Sports App: [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [Google Play]( [App Store]( [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [App Store]( [Google Play]( Also available on these devices: [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] Trademark & Copyright Notice: ™ and © 2021 Fox Media LLC and FOX Sports Interactive Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Please do not reply to this message. If you do not wish to receive emails like this in the future, please [unsubscribe](. FOX Sports respects your privacy. Click [here]( to view our Privacy Policy. Fox.com Business & Legal Affairs - Manager Digital Media P.O. Box 900 Beverly Hills, California 90213-0900