Barty's Back

Ashleigh Barty is a name that should sound familiar. The Australian won junior Wimbledon in 2011, and just two years later she reached a career-high WTA ranking of No. 129 in singles and No. 12 in doubles (thanks to three Grand Slam final appearances with Casey Dellacqua).

But in 2014 she abruptly walked away, citing stress from having the spotlight on her, and went on a 16-month sabbatical. Still just a teenager, she turned to cricket, joining the Brisbane Heat in the Women’s Big Bash League in 2015.

This February, the 20-year-old announced her return, dubbing it her 2.0 career.

She's already ranked again thanks to some ITF Pro Circuit success (including three doubles titles):

In her first "2.0" WTA event this week, she has qualified for Nottingham and is into the quarterfinals with wins over Shuai Peng and Andrea Hlavackova.

Fellow players are excited to see the likeable Barty back on court, even the player she just beat is happy for her (Barty hit 12 aces in her win over Hlavackova):

Barty faces top seed Karolina Pliskova for a spot in the semifinals.