Ash Barty cops another brutal snub at Wimbledon
It seems that Australia’s favourite Ash Barty just can’t seem to catch a break, and this time, it’s not Channel Seven’s fault.
After the network chose to air Nick Kyrgios’ match against Jordan Thompson over Ash Barty’s first round clash at Wimbledon, it seems that once again, the tennis star has been overlooked.
She’s the No. 1 player in the world but regardless, fans won’t be seeing her on Centre Court at the All England Club because her second-round match against Alison Van Uytvanck is not considered worthy of the main stage.
Instead, her showdown will be played on Court No. 2 while Kyrgios displays his potential on Centre Court.
The 23-year-old started her Wimbledon season off with a bang, beating Saisai Zheng on Court 1. And while it’s expected for Barty to now play in what Kyrgios earlier described as the best court in tennis, she’ll have to keep working harder for the coveted opportunity.
A spokesperson for Wimbledon addressed the growing criticism, saying: “As always, the scheduling of the order of play each day at The Championships is a complex operation. We take great care when scheduling matches and allocating courts.
“All decisions are made with fairness and the best interests of the tournament, players, spectators and our worldwide broadcast audience at heart.”
But not everyone accepted the explanation with fans taking to Twitter to express their frustration.
Yes, Australian Open favours Australians. But does it treat world numbers one like that?
— Adam Peacock (@adampeacock3) 3 July 2019
Lots of agendas and stars to juggle but agree with Adam.
New women's No. 1 & new French Open champ belongs on Centre https://t.co/QWVVz5vN0z— Christopher Clarey (@christophclarey) 3 July 2019
Barty isn’t the only one that has been snubbed as world famous players such as Roger Federer, Serena Williams and Petra Kvitova are all scheduled to play on Court No. 1 on Thursday.