Australian Ash Barty as become the first-ever Australian player to be honoured with the ITF’s Fed Cup Heart Award.
The award recognises players who have represented their country with distinction, shown exceptional courage on court and demonstrated outstanding commitment to their team during Fed Cup.
“Playing for my country is always a privilege and Fed Cup weeks are my favourite time of the year. I’m honoured to have won the Fed Cup Heart Award for my role in our semifinal win,” Barty said.
"Playing in a Fed Cup Final is something I have always dreamt of" 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) June 21, 2019
See you in November, @ashbar96! For now, here's some of the highlights from your #HeartAward-winning semi-final performance 🙌
Barty plans to donate her $10,000 cheque to @RSPCA Australia 💜 pic.twitter.com/F70jNoHXt3
“Having the chance to play in Fed Cup Final is something I have always dreamt of and I’m so happy we’ll be playing the final at home in Australia.
"It will be another great opportunity to pull on the green and gold and work together with Alicia (Molik) and our whole team to hopefully get the ultimate win for Australia.”
Barty was nominated for the Award after leading Australia to a 3-2 victory over Belarus in the semifinals in April.
During that tie she won both her singles matches before teaming up with Sam Stosur to win the crucial doubles rubber, taking Australia to their first Fed Cup final in 26 years.
The world No.2 dominance has been pivotal in Australia’s quest for the Fed Cup. She’s not only won all six rubbers this year, but she’s also made history as the first player to both play and win every possible match on the way to the final.
The award includes a $10,000 USD ($14,426 AUD) grant for the charity of her choice, RSPCA.
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