Ash Barty inspires young players at tennis clinics in the Northern Territory

Tennis' World No 1 and Australian Open champion Ash Barty has snuck in the Northern Territory to conduct a number of tennis clinics as part of Tennis Australia's Racquets and Red Dust program.

With Uluru as a backdrop,Ngarigo woman Barty spent the day in Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park teaching kids from the small Indigenous community Mutitjulu.

The red dusty centre 'court' was far from Barty's triumph over US Danielle Collins at Rod Laver arena early this year but equally important to inspire another generation of tennis players.

Barty said the experience of meeting the 16 children from Mutitjulu school was a life-changing experience for her, seeing that many of them had never played tennis before.

«This has been today an experience … for me as it is for the kids.

»I think providing that opportunity is so exciting for me.

«That's what lights me up the most is seeing them smile, try something new for the first time and do it it reminds me of what it was like for myself,» she said.

Barty said the program helped participants learn new skills in a safe environment.

«It's the hand-eye coordination.

»It's the connection of hitting the ball. It's the coordination of learning how to swing in different swings."

On Saturday morning in Alice Springs, Barty received a rock star welcome at the local tennis school by local students.

Aspiring tennis champion, 10-year-old Elizabeth France said she could not believe the news when she found out that Ash Barty was offering clinics in the red centre.

«I was speechless and I was about to cry.

»Because I was really excited to meet Ash Barty," she said.

Elizabeth had the opportunity to have a hit with the world number one and glean some advice.

«She said she liked my tennis racquet.

»[She told me] to slow