Ashleigh Barty’s Wimbledon singles adventure may have ended at the hands of America’s Alison Riske Monday, but she’s clearly been having some fun off the court.
The women’s world No. 1 player has been sneaking lines from Disney movies into her answers at the tournament’s press conferences.
First came “The Lion King.” Asked about starting at Wimbledon at a press conference July 2, Barty replied: “Kind of came into it thinking kind of like hakuna matata, just relax and go for it.”
Next came “Toy Story,” two days later. When asked about her success over the past year, the player replied with Buzz Lightyear’s famous catchphrase: “I chat to my niece. Over and over she tells me you can go to infinity and beyond.”
Finally, when asked at a press conference Saturday about her choice of shot, Barty replied: “Sometimes I look at a shot, I play a shot, I think the seaweed is always greener in someone else’s lake. I try and think of how else I can win the point” — a nod to the lyrics of “Under the Sea,” a song from “The Little Mermaid.”
The references, the player said, were “a bit of fun.”
“Look, it was a way for us to enjoy it and try to bring a little bit more energy, I suppose, in the press. I love Disney. I watch it all the time,” Barty said at a press conference following her match against Riske Monday. “It’s been a bit of fun for all of us. You guys caught on I think the third time around. It’s been a bit of fun.”
Barty, who won her first grand slam title at Roland Garros in June and knocked Naomi Osaka of Japan off the top spot in the women’s world rankings, lost to Riske in three sets.
