Top Ranked Ash Barty Has Her Eyes Set on 2nd Grand Slam Title

Although she has been ranked WTA World No.1 for over a year now, there isn’t much fanfare surrounding Ashleigh Barty. The Australian native is undoubtedly one of the least flashy players on Tour, which led to her being underestimated early in her career.

However, fast-forward to a few years later and Barty has accumulated a vast number of trophies and accolades, culminating with her winning her maiden Grand Slam singles title at the 2019 French Open. The 24-year old ascended to the top of the rankings soon after, although she still maintains her low-profile and humility.

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Despite her meteoric rise and newfound confidence, Barty did not experience much success on her home soil. Prior to 2019, the Aussie had never made it past the third round of the Australian Open. Furthermore, she had never won a title at home, always coming up short in the lead-up tournaments to the first Grand Slam of the year. However, Barty finally made the quarterfinals at Melbourne in 2019, the year she won her first Grand Slam. After securing the No.1 ranking a few months later, she would begin the 2020 season in Australia as the top-ranked female player

Having suffered an early round loss to qualifier Jennifer Brady at the 2020 Brisbane International, Barty would finally win her first trophy on home soil at the Adelaide International the following week. Buoyed by this victory, the Queensland native was the favorite to win the Australian Open title. Additionally, she was also creating history as the first Australian woman to play in the tournament while ranked World No.1.

Barty struggled in the opening round against the unseeded Lesia Tsurenko, but overcame her opponent in three sets. Her route to the final began to generate more interest as she progressed through each round of the tournament. With an entire nation watching her, perhaps the pressure began to mount on the young Aussie’s shoulders. She would face American Sofia Kenin in the semifinals, a career-best appearance for both ladies. However, Barty would lose the match 6-7(6) 5-7, after having a set point in each set.

Following the COVID outbreak, Barty chose not to play for the remainder of the season citing health and travel concerns. Nonetheless, she has held her No.1 ranking due to the current revised WTA ranking system which prevents players from losing ranking points due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the 2021 Australian Open only less than two weeks away, the pressure is on Barty to produce a repeat performance from last year’s event. However, there will be some expected resistance from the likes of 2019 champion Naomi Osaka, defending champion Sofia Kenin, along with veterans Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka. Furthermore, her rivals have all experienced playing in front of limited fans, an experience which will be foreign to the Australian.

Currently scheduled to compete in the Melbourne Summer Series, which consists of several tournaments that will be used as a tune-up for the Australian Open, Barty has expressed excitement and optimism at returning to the courts. The World No.1 will lead the field at the Gippsland Trophy and Yarra Valley Classic, two WTA 500 events that will be played simultaneously and are set to commence on January 31st.

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