Ash Barty shared a special moment with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, but didn't agree with everything Prince William said.
Ash Barty can consider herself tennis royalty so she would have felt right at home chatting to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
After beating Karolina Pliskova to winher first Wimbledon singles title — becoming just the second Australian woman to do so in 41 years after her idol Evonne Goolagong Cawley — Barty was given the rock-star treatment.
Kate Middleton presented Barty with her trophy then had the chance to chat more as the Aussie superstar joined her and Prince William a little later after celebrating with her team and posing for photos.
Barty joined the British royals upstairs in the Wimbledon clubhouse and was congratulated once again, as Middleton asked Barty if she spoke to her family the night before she stepped onto Centre Court for one of the biggest matches of her life.
"Yeah I called my niece and nephew and they were so excited," Barty told Middleton. "I know they're up watching now."
Middleton said how much she admired Barty's success, particularly given she's been restricted by the "intense" life of being stuck in a biosecure bubble, along with the rest of the players, which has severely limited their movements in London and on tour in general.
She asked how good it was to play in front of fans again, as a full house was allowed to witness the final.
"It is the best feeling," Barty said. "When we walked here, they (the fans) were just incredible."
William said: "You didn't look like you had any nerves today at all."
But Barty chuckled as she rejected that assertion, prompting the Prince to remark she "hid it very well".
"Oh no, I did (have nerves)," she said. "I tried to just hit it out.
"I love playing here ... it brings out the very best in me."
Middleton added: "I met a little fangirl downstairs, she was so sweet. So you're inspiring the next generation."
Once Barty finished with Kate and William, she fist-bumped tennis legends Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova before rejoining her team in the corridor, breaking down in tears again as boyfriend Garry Kissick wrapped his arms around her.
Barty cemented her status as an Australian national hero. Photo / Getty Images
Barty said her triumph was nothing short of a "miracle", telling reporters post-match her team had kept a secret from her about the extent of the injury she suffered before the French Open, which forced her to pull out from Roland Garros just weeks earlier.
A hip complaint experts predicted would keep her out for two months couldn't keep Barty down, and after her team downplayed the severity of it to her she rose from her sickbed to achieve a childhood dream.
"Being able to play here at Wimbledon was nothing short of a miracle," Barty said. "They kept a lot of cards close to their chest. It just proved how much we were against the odds.
"To be playing pain-free through this event was incredible. Certainly now chatting to them it looked a lot less likely than I felt. It's been an incredible month."
They were plenty of celebrities in the crowd to watch Barty's incredible win, but not everyone was impressed with Hollywood icon Tom Cruise hogging the limelight.
