Top seed Ashleigh Barty became the first Aussie to win the Australian Open in 44 years, as she beat 27th seed American Danielle Collins in the finals 6-3, 7-6 on January 29, 2022.
She became the first Australian to win the Melbourne crown since 1978 when Christine O’Neil (sitting in the Rod Laver Arena crowd, watching the match) won.
Now, Ashleigh Barty has three Grand Slams to her credit – French Open, Wimbledon, and Australian Open. And she is favored to win more Grand Slams given her highly skilled game.
Meanwhile, runner-up Danielle Collins, a college champion at the University of Virginia, had her best Grand Slam result and will rise to the top 10 in women’s tennis.
Ash Barty, usually very subdued, showed how much winning her home grand slam means to her, as she began the ‘Barty Party’ (as her supporters say when she wins) with several yells after her crosscourt forehand winner on championship point.