Ash Barty plays a team game in singular pursuit of home glory | Emma Kemp

The world No 1 has never operated alone and, as she marches towards the Australian Open final, continues to thrive with her support crew

When Ash Barty talks in first-person pronouns, she does so in plurals. “We” is generally the most utilised option in her lexicon.

“I think if you would have told me a few months ago this is the start to the year we’d have, we’d take it with a massive smile on our face,” the world No 1 said after her fourth-round Australian Open win. “We come out, have fun.”

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