Quote of the Day: Comeback? Ash Barty needs thesaurus to find another way to say "no"

On Wednesday, Ashleigh Barty returned to Centre Court. It was unexpected, for the Australian was originally slated to make her Wimbledon legends’ doubles debut with pal Casey Dellacqua on Court 18 Tuesday.

With Barty’s countryman Alex de Minaur forced to withdraw ahead of his singles quarterfinal with Novak Djokovic due to a hip injury, it left an unexpected hole on the schedule.

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As a result, Barty returned to the iconic venue three years to the day of her memorable 2021 triumph over Karolina Pliskova.

“I thought I'd played my last match out there,” Barty would tell press afterwards.

“It was really nice to go out there today and reminisce a little bit.”

The three-time major singles champion has been on site calling matches for the BBC at the grass-court major. Reunited with Dellacqua, the two defeated Andrea Petkovic and Magdalena Rybarikova, 5-7, 6-3 [10-7].

Seeing Barty back in action naturally caused some to wonder: is there a deeper reason behind her participation in the invitational event? The 28-year-old, who hung up her racquet for a second time in March 2022 and later welcomed son Hayden with husband Garry Kissick in July 2023, responded in style.

Q: Let's break some news. When are you coming back?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: You guys are killing me. I don't know how much more. Anyone have a thesaurus for a word that I can use for 'no'?

No. Did you ask anyone else?

Q: Just your child.

ASHLEIGH BARTY: Just picking on me (laughter).

No, mate. No, I'm not.

Anyone have a thesaurus for a word that I can use for 'no'? —Ashleigh Barty

After navigating her way through that topic of discussion, Barty was understandably gutted for De Minaur—who enjoyed his best showing at SW19 after lifting the trophy at Den Bosch in June. His status for the Paris Olympics is also now in question.

“I'm broken for Alex. I mean, you could see how much it means to him. Like he said, this was the biggest match of his life. This was the opportunity that he had worked so hard for,” she said.

“He is a resilient athlete. He's a ripping guy. I know that this will be a challenge. But there will be a silver lining somewhere along the way that he'll grow from, absolutely.”

If there’s anyone who knows a thing or two about resilience and finding a silver lining, it’s Barty.