A new playground, designed in collaboration with tennis legend Ash Barty, opened in Springfield Lakes. It offers the community a unique space with tennis-themed features and nature play areas.
The Ash Barty Playground, a project funded by the Queensland Government with $525,000, is now open to the public. The park, situated in the heart of Springfield Lakes, was created through a partnership between the government, Ipswich City Council, Springfield City Group, and Ash Barty herself.
The former world number one tennis player was involved in the design process, ensuring the playground reflected her connection to the local area and her passion for encouraging children to be active.
The playground features a half-court and rebound wall with a painted tennis net, allowing children to practice their tennis skills. Beyond the tennis elements, the park includes a dry creek bed and nature play equipment, providing diverse play options. Looped pathways, designed to resemble a tennis ball when viewed from above, connect the various areas of the playground.
The paths are lined with pine trees, each accompanied by a story, and the playground also offers new shade structures, seating, and ample greenery to create a welcoming atmosphere.
Officials said that Ash Barty preferred a playground for the community rather than a statue to honour her achievements. The Minister for Sport stated that the playground acknowledges her sporting career and status as a respected Queenslander. He further commented that Barty’s humility and connection to her roots were evident in her request.
The Ipswich Mayor noted that the playground will inspire local children to participate in sports. Barty expressed her fondness for Springfield Lakes and her satisfaction in contributing to a space that families can enjoy. Ash Barty, the Minister for Sport Tim Mander, and Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding attended the official opening of the playground. The playground officially opened on 2025 March 24.
Former world tennis champion and Greater Springfield’s own Ash Barty has been honoured as a ‘Role Model’ doll with the launch of Mattel’s Aboriginal Barbie. The initiative was part of the brand’s celebration of International Women’s Day on March 8 and aimed to highlight the importance of female friendships and representation.
Barty shares this recognition with her friend and mentor, fellow Indigenous global tennis star Evonne Goolagong Cawley. The duo recently unveiled their one-of-a-kind Barbie dolls, created as part of a special collection that pays tribute to their contributions to the sport and their commitment to inspiring future generations.
“Never did I think I would have my own Barbie but this campaign celebrating our friendship was special,” shared Barty on a social media post.
Photo credit: Ash Barty/Instagram
For both Barty and Goolagong Cawley, the Barbie ‘Role Model’ dolls represent more than just an accolade. They see this as an opportunity to empower the next generation of young girls through visibility and inspiration. Barty has always believed that representation plays a crucial role in shaping aspirations, noting that seeing role models can help others believe in their own potential.
She acknowledged the significance of being the first Indigenous figure featured in the Barbie lineup but emphasised that the impact extends beyond that milestone.
“I am a big believer in what you see, you can be. Evonne showed me what was possible when I was young, I hope to inspire girls in the same way,” she said.
Photo credit: Ash Barty/Instagram
Barty’s doll is dressed in the outfit she wore during her historic Wimbledon victory in 2021, a design by FILA created to honour Goolagong Cawley. Meanwhile, Goolagong Cawley’s doll wears the attire from her appearance at the 2022 Australian Open.
The tribute extends to a cherished moment between the two, when Goolagong Cawley surprised Barty by presenting her with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup after her Australian Open win.
Goolagong Cawley, a long-time advocate for Indigenous representation, highlighted the importance of role models for young people. She shared that in her work with an Indigenous national program, she often tells young girls about her journey, including the challenges she faced on the road to winning Wimbledon.
She also stressed the importance of sharing these experiences so that young people understand the obstacles that can arise and how to overcome them. Both she and Barty aim to create a clear pathway for young athletes to pursue and achieve their dreams.
Through these Barbie dolls, Barty and Goolagong Cawley hope to inspire young girls, particularly those from Indigenous backgrounds, to pursue their aspirations in sport and beyond. Their journey stands as a testament to resilience, friendship, and the power of representation in shaping the future.
Former tennis champion Ash Barty, who resides in the Greater Springfield region, has announced she is expecting her second child, further embracing her family-focused lifestyle while continuing to contribute to the local community.
On Christmas Day, Ms Barty shared the joyous news of her growing family through a social media post featuring her 18-month-old son Hayden wearing a shirt reading, “I am going to be a big brother.”
The 28-year-old, who retired from professional tennis in 2022, lives with her husband Garry Kissick in Brookwater, an exclusive neighbourhood within Greater Springfield.
Ms Barty’s decision to settle in the area reflects her strong ties to the community where she grew up. Since retiring, she has chosen a quieter life close to nature while raising her family. In a recent interview, she emphasised her love for the local lifestyle, describing the region as a perfect place for her family to grow.
Life After Tennis: Community and Creativity
Though retired from the sport, Ms Barty remains deeply involved in tennis and broader community initiatives.
As Tennis Australia’s National Indigenous Tennis Ambassador, she works to inspire Indigenous youth to explore opportunities in the sport.
Earlier, she established the Ash Barty Foundation, which uses sport and education to empower young Australians. Her foundation will be a key presence at the Brisbane International’s charity showcase on 29 December, where she will participate alongside tennis legend Pat Rafter.
Beyond her ambassadorial work, Ms Barty has authored a memoir titled “My Dream Time” and released a series of children’s books, “Little Ash,” aimed at encouraging young readers. These creative pursuits reflect her commitment to making a lasting impact beyond tennis.
Photo Credit: Ash Barty/Instagram
In addition to her investments in Springfield, Barty recently purchased a $2.52 million beachfront apartment in Palm Beach, Queensland, which will serve as a family holiday retreat when construction is completed in 2025.
Former world No. 1 and Springfield-raised Ash Barty is set to make a highly anticipated return to Wimbledon this July, nearly two years after her shock retirement from professional tennis. The 28-year-old Australian tennis legend will participate in the invitational doubles event, marking her first appearance on the hallowed grass courts since her triumphant singles victory in 2021.
Barty will team up with her former doubles partner and close friend, Casey Dellacqua. The pair, affectionately known as “ABCD” (Ash Barty and Casey Dellacqua), have a history of success, including reaching three grand slam finals together.
The legends tournament will feature two groups of eight pairs competing in a round-robin format. The top pairs from each group will advance to the final, vying for a share of the ~$64,800 first-place prize. All participating pairs are guaranteed a minimum of ~$45,800 between them.
Ash Barty, legend of tennis
Ash Barty’s 2021 Wimbledon victory ended a 41-year drought for Australian women at the tournament, following in the footsteps of her mentor and idol, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, who won in 1980.
The Woodcrest State College alum also claimed grand slam titles at the 2019 French Open and the 2022 Australian Open before her surprise retirement announcement in March 2022.
Since stepping away from professional tennis, Barty has embraced family life. She married her partner Garry Kissick and welcomed their son, Hayden. Despite occasional calls for her return to the professional circuit, Barty has consistently expressed contentment with her current priorities. “I absolutely love being a mum. There’s nothing else that I prefer to do,” she said.
Dual role at Wimbledon
In addition to her participation in the invitationals, Barty will also serve as a commentator during the Wimbledon tournament.
This dual role allows her to remain connected to the sport while maintaining her retirement from professional play.
The Wimbledon tournament, including the legends invitational event, is set to begin on Monday, July 1, offering fans a chance to see their hometown hero back in action on one of tennis’s most prestigious stages.
Ash Barty shocked the world of tennis when she retired at the top of her game so she could go after ‘other dreams.’ These days, she can be seen swinging a golf club in winning form at Brookwater Golf and Country Club, where she recently proved her championship streak isn’t over just yet.
On Saturday, 2 April 2022, Ash won the ladies’ competition against five women at the Brookwater Golf and Country Club. The 25-year-old bagged $30 for her win, a far cry from her over $30-million winning in tennis.
Nonetheless, there have been speculations were that the World No. 1 could be coming out of retirement to play golf professionally. It won’t be a surprise to her fans, however, as Ash is quite a talented golfer and played with Tiger Woods before.
Woods even said that Ash has “got a great swing.” Two-time Queensland amateur champion Louis Dobbelaar also believes that Ash has all she needs to pursue golf as she’s natural at it.
Ash has been a member of the Brookwater Golf and Country Club for a few years and she also won the club championship in 2020. Members adore her down-to-earth nature.
The tennis superstar is currently building her new home at Brookwater Residential as it suits the quiet lifestyle she craves for. The golf course is a stone’s throw away from the residential community.
Aside from tennis and golf, Ash is also a great cricket player and had a full-time contract with Brisbane Heat in 2015 during her brief break from tennis in 2014. One of her former Heat coaches said that she’s very team-oriented and showed outstanding batting skills from the get-go. Her father is a major cricket fan and she sat many hours with him watching the games on TV as a child.
Despite the speculations, Ash has been mum about her next plans post-retirement from tennis. The world will just have to wait and see her next move.
Tennis superstar Ash Barty will be honoured with her very own statue in Ipswich after her victorious performance to end a 44-year drought and win the Australian Open.
Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding confirmed in a press conference that they have been in discussions with Ms Barty’s team about creating a statue for the World No. 1.
“People are very keen to do a statue…so we’ll certainly put in a great application for that,” the mayor said. “Again, we’ll work with Ash’s team to make sure that it’s respectful and it’s something that’s really great.”
Ms Harding said that the community will also be involved in planning the statue. On her Facebook page, hundreds of Ipswich locals have shared their ideas on how best to honour Ms Barty.
Following her epic win, Ipswich installed five electronic billboards to honour their homegrown talent. Ms Harding said that Barty’s success is an inspiration to the community and described the tennis champ as “down-to-earth and hardworking.”
“She is quintessentially Ipswich; down-to-earth, focused, works hard and she has achieved her dream.”
Ms Harding also said they are considering renaming a road after Ms Barty, depending on how the talks with her team work out.
In 2017, Ipswich gave Ms Ash Barty the key to the city for her outstanding contribution to tennis, besting Grand Slam singles results in the 2017 Australian Open and the 2017 US Open. This was also the year Ms Barty climbed the WTA Top 100 world rankings to end at 17. Tennis centres across Ipswich have also been named after her.
Ms Barty’s accomplishment also brings pride to the First Nations people. The 25-year-old is a proud Ngarigo woman.
Last year, two petitions were opened for an Ash Barty bride and an Ash Barty statue in Springfield Central in Ipswich, where she grew up.
Locals in Ipswich are mobilising a petition to rename a bridge in Springfield Central after Australia’s first Wimbledon women’s singles champion in 41 years, Ashleigh Barty. A second petition is also pushing for the first female statue in Brisbane featuring the tennis star.
Spearheaded by Ipswich resident Karin Weston, the petition on Charge.Org has gotten nearly 7,000 signatures and it’s still gaining the numbers. The petition is asking Ipswich City Council to change the Paul Pisasale Bridge to Ashleigh Barty Bridge, citing that it’s “well overdue.”
Weston said that she gets frustrated whenever she crosses the Paul Pisasale Bridge, named after the disgraced mayor who was sacked in 2018 and convicted in 2020 following a Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission investigation.
Highlights
A petition to rename the Paul Pisasale Bridge to Ashleigh Barty Bridge in Springfield Central is gaining momentum after her Wimbledon win.
Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding said that Barty deserves the highest honour that should top the Paul Pisasale Bridge.
Another petition has launched the campaign for the first female statue in Brisbane featuring Barty.
“An Indigenous woman, a sporting legend, a woman of character who is proud to call this community her hometown,” Weston wrote. “We are all so proud of Ash and acknowledge the values and successes through triumph and the low times where Ash’s character was tested and shone through maintaining her strength and values and always commending the support of her team family and fans.”
Meanwhile, a campaign has been launched to build a statue for Barty in Greater Springfield. Created by Melina MacNellie-Verrall, the petition could pave the way for the creation of Brisbane’s first statue dedicated to a woman.
“The point was raised that Brisbane does not have any female statues recognising their achievements,” Ms MacNellie-Verrall wrote. “Ash Barty deserves to be recognised for her success as one of Queensland’s greatest sportswomen for many years to come and what a wonderful opportunity to be Brisbane’s first female statue.”
It comes as Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding has been looking into renaming some bridges, roads, and nature reserves amidst calls from the community. These landmarks include:
Paul Pisasale Bridge – Springfield Central
David Morrison Way – Springfield
Paul Tully Bridge – Springfield Central
Paul Tully Avenue – Collingwood
David Pahlke Bridge – Springfield Central
Sheila Ireland Reserve – Redbank Plain
Whilst the mayor agrees with the community’s call for the renaming, she said that the Council would still conduct a proper investigation into the cost of changing public landmarks, which will be shouldered by ratepayers. She said that residents and businesses that could be affected by the name change will be consulted and that Council will need 75 percent of the public to agree before proceeding with the plans.
The mayor also believes that the city should give Barty the “highest honour,” especially after her display of sportsmanship at Wimbledon. She is aware of the petition but given the association with the bridge, Harding said that wants to give Barty something more special to top the Paul Pisasale Bridge. She also plans to run some ideas with the tennis champ herself.
Ash Barty at the Tokyo Olympics
Meanwhile, after her success at Wimbledon, Barty failed to win an Olympic medal at the women’s single in the Tokyo Olympics. Team Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo knocked Barty off the first-round match.
Barty and Storm Sanders also failed to win the women’s doubles match against Czech Republic’s Katerina Siniakova and Barbora Krejcikova. But as Barty was not yet ready to throw in the towel, she and John Peers won bronze medals at the mixed doubles, their first Olympic medals in their career.
After Tokyo Olympics, Barty will play at the U.S. Open and then come home in November. She has houses in Springfield Lakes and Augustine Heights. The renaming might need to wait until the champion returns home.
