World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty may go back on hiatus following Australian Open

Queensland native and world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty made it to the 2020 Australian Open semifinal stage and appeared headed toward even greater on-court successes until the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily halted the season. 

The 24-year-old surprised many when she opted to remain in Australia through the end of the year and not play in the US Open or defend her French Open crown at Roland-Garros.

While she will compete at this year's Australian Open that is scheduled to begin Feb. 8, she told the Australian Associated Press (h/t ESPN) that she could go back on hiatus following the year's first Grand Slam. 

"Not a lot's changed," Barty said of the worldwide health crisis. "Obviously it's still quite a delicate situation and we have a couple of plans. 

"We have options A, B, C and D to kind of go through and we have to wing it a little bit, honestly, because we can't know quite what to expect.

"But what [coach Craig Tyzzer] and I have spoken about is that our kind of stance remains the same - the priority for us is the health and wellbeing of not only us two on the road, but also our families back home.

"So, for us, that's a really important thing, regardless of what tournaments may be on.

"Our decisions will always be prioritised by our health and by the bigger picture for us of more than just hitting tennis balls."

Barty will play an exhibition match against Simona Halep, ranked No. 2, on Friday. 

Coronavirus vaccine rollouts have thus far been slower than hoped throughout much of the world, but sports competitions in Europe and North America nevertheless continue to hold campaigns. Barty seems patient enough to wait however long it takes for her to feel safe to travel for major tournaments. 

"It's been a trying time for everyone down here in Victoria, in particular," she added. "So we have to be extremely grateful and understand just how lucky we are that we have an opportunity to play. 

"So I'll go out there to try and do the best that I can to enjoy it but also go out there and try and do everyone proud knowing that we've got the tennis back and hopefully it's going to be a really good month."