World’s No.1 Ashleigh Barty hasn’t played a competitive match since February, but this still wasn’t enough for her opponents to knock her off the top spot.
Despite missing the US Open and French Open due to concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic, Barty will enter 2021 as the top-ranked female tennis player in the world. The 24-year-old Australian kept her position thanks to No.2 Simona Halep’s shocking fourth-round elimination from Roland Garros by Iga Swiatek.
With the early exit from the last Grand Slam of the season, it is now impossible for Halep to catch Barty.
Ashleigh Barty took the No.1 for the first time in June 2019 and held it for seven weeks before being jumped over by Naomi Osaka. Barty reclaimed the top spot just four weeks later and didn’t drop it since then.
Bary had a career year in 2019, which saw her posting or equaling her best efforts on all four Grand Slams. She reached the fourth round at Wimbledon and US Open while getting to the quarterfinals on the Australian Open. Last year also saw her winning her first major title, as she beat Czech Republic’s Marketa Vondrousova to claim the French Open.
