After ending Australia's long wait for a home singles champion, she became the first home player to win the Australian Open men's or women's singles title in 44 years.
Cementing her reputation as a national hero, following her first Grand Slam at the 2019 French Open and success at Wimbledon last year, the ecstasy and relief of a nation proved palpable to the extreme.
And, having already long-achieved that status, this proved the perfect ‘feel-good’ factor for a nation suffering, more than many it was felt, during the past Covid-riddled 18-months.
In a city which has endured one of the toughest lockdowns in the coronavirus pandemic, and for a tournament which was clouded in controversy at the start, Ashleigh Barty brought a welcome feel-good factor. Her two-set (6-3 7-6) victory over American Danielle Collin, at the Rod Laver Arena, in Melbourne, makes her the second Australian WTA singles No.1 after fellow Indigenous Australian player – and proud fellow-Aborigine Evonne Goolagong-Cawley, who 14 Grand Slam tournament titles: seven in singles (four at the Australian Open, two at Wimbledon and one at the French Open), six in women's doubles, and one in mixed doubles.
"To get to experience playing at home is really special,” said 25-year-old Barty. “And, to be here as a champion, was really exciting for me."
Her victory means that she is only the second woman to win major titles on clay, grass and hard courts with Serena Williams being the only other active female player to have achieved that feat.
