Ashleigh Barty

I feel comfortable on and off the court, happy in my own skin, just really comfortable with the way I'm playing my tennis.

It's the best feeling ever: the adrenalin, the extra boost, the support you get from the very passionate Australian Open crowd is amazing.

The most confronting thing you can do is talk about your feelings and open yourself up.

You love the competitive one-on-one aspect, where you look across the net, and you're trying to beat your opponent. You're doing everything you physically can to win on that day.

I love the sport of tennis, but I sort of got a little bit away from what I really wanted to do. It became robotic for me, and that's not what I wanted. It's such an amazing sport, and I just really wanted to enjoy it, and I lost that enjoyment and that passion.

Australians are hungry for sport. They love it. They're addicted to it.

Cricket and tennis are very different skill sets, but I've played tennis all my life, so it's a lot easier coming back than learning how to face a cricket ball for the first time.

Tennis has been a part of my life since I was five years old.

There are not a lot of people in the world that get to say they get to walk through the gates of Wimbledon and play on Centre Court. It's pretty phenomenal, and we're very lucky to live this life that we do.

Whether I'd stopped playing professionally at 17 - or if I stop at 35 - tennis will always be a part of my life.

You obviously have a different perspective on life when you're 20 compared to when you're 16.

There are a lot of hours and a lot of sacrifices you have to make to achieve your dreams as a tennis player.