Rick Rycroft/Associated Press
WIMBLEDON, England — Asked about her readiness for Wimbledon, where on Tuesday she will play her first match as the No. 1 seed, Ashleigh Barty used her preferred first-person plural pronouns.
“We feel like we’ve been striking the ball really well; we’re comfortable with the grass under our feet,” Barty said Saturday.
The use of “we” is “very automatic,” she says, part of a collective mind-set that makes life less lonely at the top. She wants to share her successes with her team, which consists of her coach Craig Tyzzer, the professional mentor Ben Crowe, the manager Nikki Craig, the strength and conditioning coach Mark Taylor, and the physiotherapists Adam Schuhmacher and Melanie Omizzolo.