French Open: Kimberly Birrell hopes to put Australian women back on map

A s Ash Barty was basking in the adulation of returning to Brisbane as the world No 1 in January 2020, Kimberly Birrell was buzzing about the media room preparing for the future. Birrell, who is the only Australian guaranteed to play women’s singles at Roland Garros this year, bounced between social media opportunities and player interviews with enthusiasm.

As a Tennis Australia social media assistant the Queenslander presented like a journalism graduate in the midst of a dream summer internship doing her best to impress. With her work ethic and intellect clear, she was offered a similar media role at the Australian Open.

“I met so many cool people and had so many cool experiences and a lot of good opportunities have come from that. But, oh my God, it was daunting,” she says. “I have never been so tired in my life. I have so much respect for you guys with what you go through, because through those three weeks, they were the longest days ever.

“I remember I kept saying, ‘I need to get back on the court,’ because I just felt exhausted at the end of every day.”

To be accurate, almost everyone else working in those media centres wished she was back on the court as well, though this had nothing to do with her working capabilities. Instead of attending promotional shoots where the world’s best players cuddled with koalas, her colleagues know Birrell should have been blasting balls from the baseline with Barty.

A year earlier the Gold Coast native had been on the other side of the microphone, beaming as she discussed a first Top 10 victory over Daria Kasatkina in the Brisbane International. At the Australian Open she added Sofia Kenin, the 2020 titleist, and future Indian Wells champion Paula Badosa to her list of scalps to