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“When a champion asks you to play at any stage, I was very flattered and honoured”
Last Updated: 21/06/19 9:24pm
Ashleigh Barty described turning down Andy Murray’s Wimbledon offer as her hardest decision.
Murray revealed on Thursday that French Open champion Barty was one of the players he had approached about playing mixed doubles at Wimbledon but she rejected the opportunity.
Barty is a contender for the singles title having lifted her maiden Grand Slam at the French Open and is playing in the women’s doubles, where she is also a major winner, with Victoria Azarenka.
After beating Venus Williams 6-4 6-3 to reach the semi-finals of the Nature Valley Classic in Birmingham, Barty said: “When Andy texted me asking me to play, I was a little bit shocked, to be honest.
“Obviously I would have loved to have grabbed the opportunity to play with Andy, and I think it was the hardest decision I have ever had to make as to whether I’m playing an event or not.
“I took some time to think about it, and playing three events is just a little bit too much. When a champion asks you to play at any stage, I was very flattered and honoured, and I said to him, ‘I think there are some pretty good options out there for you’. I’m sure he’ll find someone.
“It was nice to see him playing yesterday. You can see how much he missed it, how much he loves it. I think the whole world was watching. I don’t think there was a person in the tennis world around the planet that wasn’t happy to see him out there again.”
