Ashleigh Barty has her eyes on the prize. The 23-year-old is bidding to become the first Australian woman to win Wimbledon and has made it into the tournament’s final 16 after beating British player Harriet Dart in just 53 minutes on Saturday.
But the women’s world No. 1 seems to be having fun off the court as well, sneaking lines from Disney movies into her answers at press conferences.
First came “The Lion King.” Speaking about starting at Wimbledon in a press conference ahead of the tournament [is this correct? Looks from the transcript as if she said it on July 2, which was Day 2], Barty replied: “Yeah, it was. Kind of came into it thinking kind of like hakuna matata, just relax and go for it.”
Next came “Toy Story,” two days later. When asked about her success over the past year, the player replied with Buzz Lightyear’s famous catchphrase: “I chat to my niece. Over and over she tells me you can go to infinity and beyond.”
Finally, when asked at a press conference Saturday about her choice of shot, Barty replied: “Sometimes I look at a shot, I play a shot, I think the seaweed is always greener in someone else’s lake. I try and think of how else I can win the point” — a nod to the lyrics of “Under the Sea,” a song from “The Little Mermaid.”
CNN has reached out to Barty for comment.
Barty, who won her first grand slam title at Roland Garros in June and has knocked Naomi Osakaof Japan off the top spot in the women’s world rankings, plays American Alison Riske on Monday.
