Can Powerful American Danielle Collins Spoil a “Barty Party”?
No. 1 in the World, Barty Seeking to be First Australian Woman to Win Her Home Grand Slam Event in 44 Years
Men’s Doubles Championship Exclusive to ESPN+ at 5:30 a.m. ET
ESPN+ Available on ESPN.com and ESPN App for Mobile and Connected TV Devices
To Subscribe: ESPN+/Tennis
The Australian Open Women’s Championship will be decided late tonight live on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ when top-seeded and local favorite Ash Barty faces the hard-hitting American, No. 27 Danielle Collins at 3:30 a.m. ET.
Barty, who has been atop the women’s rankings since September 2019, is the first Australian woman to reach the final in Melbourne since 1980 (Wendy Turnbull). She hopes to be first woman to win her country’s championship since 1978 (Chris O’Neil, who was unseeded). At 25, she has a pair of Major championships to her credit, on the clay at the 2019 French Open and on the grass at Wimbledon last summer.
Collins is hoping to disappoint the crowd at Rod Laver Arena by winning in her first Major final. Win or lose, the 28-year-old from Florida will crack the top 10 in the WTA rankings for the first time on Monday. While playing at the University of Virginia she won the Honda Sports Award as the nation’s best female tennis player in 2016.
Chris Fowler and Mary Joe Fernandez will call the match, with Rennae Stubbs reporting courtside. Chris McKendry will host the telecast with Brad Gilbert and Patrick McEnroe.
Other Action Tonight on ESPN+
ESPN+ will offer the Girls’ Singles Championship starting at 8 p.m., followed by the Boys’ Singles Championship. The latter features the top seed, American Bruno Kuzuhara. A 17-year-old born in Brazil to Japanese parents, he lives in Florida.
Following the Women’s Championship, at 5:30 a.m., ESPN+ will stream the all-Australian Men’s Doubles Championship – Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios will square off against Matt Ebden and Max Purcell.
2022 AUSTRALIAN OPEN
Media Contacts:
Ardi Dwornik: 347-742-0742 (ardi.r.dwornik@espn.com)
Dave Nagle: 860-766-2241 (dave.nagle@espn.com)