Multi-talented Ashleigh Barty has been a professional cricketer, won a golf tournament and collected two tennis Grand Slam titles, with a third beckoning at the Australian Open on Saturday when she takes on Danielle Collins. Few athletes can boost such a varied sporting resume, but the down-to-earth Australian has taken it in her stride. 

Barty began playing tennis as a child in the Queensland state capital Brisbane. But it was a trip to the Australian Open for a training camp when she was “11 or 12” that proved to be the spark that drove her to where she is today.  “To see how professional it was and to see everyone going about their business was really eye-opening,” she said this week. “I think being able to get a taste of that kind of lit the flame. You wonder what you can achieve. You wonder what you can do.”