Ash Barty's injury setback: Pulls out of tournament one day after becoming World No. 1
Australian tennis star Ash Barty has suffered a flare up of an existing arm injury and has withdrawn from the Eastbourne International to recover ahead of Wimbledon.
The new World No. 1 female tennis player insists she will be fit to enter the line up as the number one seed for the event.
"It's an injury I've had to manage since I was 16 years old," Barty said to The ABC.
"It happens when I have a spike in load, it's just a bone stress injury and I need to look after it.
"We know how to manage it but it is important to get on top of it straight away.”
Barty was set to play her second-round match on Tuesday, but is instead taking it easy and is hoping to catch Australia’s Cricket World Cup clash with England at Lord’s instead.
"If it works out, we'll try and get to the cricket, If not, we'll be watching on telly," Barty said at Devonshire Park on Monday.
"I've been in touch with most of [the players]. I heard from JL [Justin Langer] yesterday and we've been in touch over the last few months.
"Hopefully I can get there."
However, Barty is aware that a potential injury flare up could impact her chances at Wimbledon.
"I really need to look after it, particularly in the first few days.
"We pulled out of the doubles [in Birmingham] to give it the best chance to be ready for singles.
"It's about rest, time off court and then monitoring how many balls I do hit when I am on court.
"It's just certain times of the year I need to be careful."