Sydney: World number one Ashleigh Barty won't have a chance to fulfil her dream of winning Wimbledon this year, but she remains laser-focused on being crowned champion at the All-England Club.

The Australian won the junior Wimbledon title as a 15-year-old in 2011, but the expectations that came with that success took their toll and she made a shock decision three years later to ditch tennis for cricket.

"In short, I think I needed just to find myself," Barty, who is skipping the upcoming US Open due to coronavirus fears, said in an interview Thursday with broadcaster ABC of her move to the Brisbane Heat cricket team.

"I felt like I got twisted and maybe a little bit lost along the way in the first part of my career."

While cricket gave her "a different perspective about sport", the lure of tennis was never far away, driven by an ambition to taste success again at Wimbledon.