She’s only gone and bloody done it! Ash Barty, just minutes ago, was crowned the Australian Open Women’s Singles Champion for 2022. The 25-year-old World No. 1 is the first Aussie
woman to win her local Grand Slam in 44 years, winning 6-3 7-6 against the United States’ Danielle Collins.
It’s an absolutely huge win for both Barty and the country, who has really rallied behind our local champ. As we speak, Barty is chatting with the media in front of a score of fans, knocking back a frosty Corona to celebrate. What a legend.
Barty was characteristically classy when receiving the the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup, graciously thanking the fans, organisers and her team for her momentous victory. Also exceptionally classy was the brand-new Rado signature watch model on her wrist: a technical yet elegant timepiece that’s emblematic of her character as both an athlete and role model.
The Rado HyperChrome Ash Barty II (ref. R32027962) is, as the name implies, is the second Barty signature model Rado has released. A 36mm three-handed quartz model, it’s fashioned out of Rado’s signature polished plasma high-tech ceramic: a unique bio-compatible material that features a dark, metallic sheen.
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The high-tech ceramic contrasts brilliantly with the watch’s blue mother-of-pearl dial, which features three jubilé diamonds at 12 o’clock, rhodium-coloured dauphine hands and applied indexes, a date window at 3 o’clock and a moving rhodium-coloured tennis ball centred in the lower half at 6 o’clock.
It’s both very sporty and very dressy at once – the perfect watch for trophy lifting, we’d say. Strictly limited to 996 numbered pieces (Ash was born in 1996), the champion’s watch retails for AU$3,675.
Barty’s partnership with Rado isn’t just purely horological in 2022, either. Barty and Rado have teamed up with Australian artist Ashvin Harrison to create a one-off piece of art that’ll be auctioned off in support of the well-regarded children’s charity, the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
The artwork, a homage to Barty’s legendary Wimbledon 2021 win made in part by Barty hitting the canvas with paint-laden tennis balls, will be auctioned off by Rado along with the tennis balls and racquet used in its creation as well as a limited edition Rado HyperChrome Ash Barty timepiece. All proceeds will be donated to Make-A-Wish Australia to help grant wishes for children with critical illness.
To find out more about this artwork and its auction, which ends on the 31st of January, head to its auction page here.
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