Tennis: Australia, world number 1 without Ashley Party in the Billy Jean King Cup

Posted on: 05/10/2021 – 07:54Changed: 05/10/2021 – 07:52

Sydney Airport (AFP)

World No. 1 Ashley Party will not be taking part in the Billy Jean King Cup (ex-Fed Cup) in Prague in early November, the Australian Tennis Federation announced on Tuesday, raising questions about the player’s premature end of the season.

News of Party Brock’s absence from November 1-6 comes just days after he announced his withdrawal from the Indian Wells WTA 1000 tournament starting Wednesday in California.

The Australian Federation has given no explanation for Billy Jean King’s absence from the Cup, noting that his team in the Czech Republic will be led by 47th world number Ajla Tomjanovic.

The finalist of the last edition of the Fed Cup (which became Billy Jean King) organized before the health crisis in 2019, Australia was then defeated by France.

Ashley Party’s decision raises questions about the 25-year-old’s premature end of the season, who also had to defend her title – obtained in 2019, the 2020 edition was canceled due to crisis health – where women masters are highly uncertain in Guadalajara, Mexico.

The party was eliminated early at the US Open, where he lost to American Shelby Rogers and was eliminated in the third round. The Wimbledon winner in July missed out on a second Grand Slam title. He explained during the match that “there was not enough physical or mental strength in the tank”.

Her 2021 season was no less successful after 2020, when she chose to stay in Australia during the Covid 19 epidemics.

Back in the courts this year, the 25-year-old returned to his best, winning matches in Wimbledon, Miami, Melbourne, Stuttgart and Cincinnati, without taking time to return to his home country from February.

His coach Craig Dyser recently explained to the player that he needed “space”, further criticizing the choice to move the Masters, initially planning for a city at an altitude of 1,500m above sea level in Shenzhen, China. The trip to Mexico will require two weeks of isolation after the party returns to Australia.

21 2021 AFP