PARIS -- Ashley Barty holds on to top spot in the WTA rankings released Monday but Karolina Pliskova has narrowed the gap heading into the Australia Open.
Dumped out of the Brisbane International in straight sets last week, Barty retains a comfortable cushion of 1,607 points over the Czech, who went on to win the Brisbane title for the third time in four years on Sunday.
Barty is aiming to become the first Australian to win her home Grand Slam since Christine O'Neil in 1976 and continues her preparations this week in Adelaide
Naomi Osaka of Japan, beaten by Pliskova in a marathon semi-final at Brisbane, moves up one place to third at the expense of Simona Halep, who is also fine-tuning her Australian Open challenge in Adelaide.
Serena Williams, who ended a three-year title drought with victory in Sunday's Auckland Classic final, also moves up one place to ninth.
WTA rankings on January 13:
1. Ashleigh Barty (AUS) 7,547 pts
2. Karolina Plískova (CZE) 5,940
3. Naomi Osaka (JPN) 5,496 (+1)
4. Simona Halep (ROU) 5,461 (-1)
5. Elina Svitolina (UKR) 5,075
6. Bianca Andreescu (CAN) 4,935
7. Belinda Bencic (SUI) 4,605 (+1)
8. Petra Kvitova (CZE) 4,436 (-1)
9. Serena Williams (USA) 4,215 (+1)
10. Kiki Bertens (NED) 4,165 (-1)
11. Madison Keys (USA) 3,072 (+2)
12. Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) 2,940 (-1)
13. Johanna Konta (GBR) 2,813 (-1)
14. Petra Martic (CRO) 2,646 (+1)
15. Sofia Kenin (USA) 2,565 (-1)
16. Marketa Vondrousova (CZE) 2,390
17. Elise Mertens (BEL) 2,250
18. Angelique Kerber (GER) 2,175
19. Alison Riske (USA) 2,130
20. Donna Vekic (CRO) 2,080
Agence France-Presse
PARIS, France -- Naomi Osaka holds on to the top of the WTA rankings on Monday despite injury and elimination from the Cincinnati Masters.
The Japanese lost to 20th placed Sofia Kenin in the quarter-finals on Sunday due to a knee injury. Her participation at the US Open is still uncertain.
Madison Keys jumped eight spots and is ranked 10th after she won Cincinnati on Sunday.
Also on the rise in an otherwise unchanged top 10 is Elina Svitolina who moved up two spots to fifth, a career high for Ukrainian.
Sloane Stephens was robbed of her 10th spot in the rankings and sits at 11th after her defeat to Svetlana Kuznetsova in Cincinatti's third round.
Meanwhile, Kiki Bertens took two steps back to 7th place and Johanna Konta was demoted to 16th.
WTA Rankings, August 19:
1. Naomi Osaka (JPN) 6,606 pts
2. Ashleigh Barty (AUS) 6,501
3. Karolína Plíšková (CZE) 6,315
4. Simona Halep (ROU) 4,743
5. Elina Svitolina (UKR) 4,492 (+2)
6. Petra Kvitová (CZE) 4,485
7. Kiki Bertens (NED) 4,325 (-2)
8. Serena Williams (USA) 3,935
9. Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) 3,320
10. Madison Keys (USA) 3,267 (+8)
11. Sloane Stephens (USA) 3,189 (-1)
12. Anastasija Sevastova (LAT) 3,167 (-1)
13. Belinda Bencic (SUI) 3,008 (-1)
14. Angelique Kerber (GER) 2,870 (-1)
15. Bianca Andreescu (CAN) 2,837 (-1)
16. Johanna Konta (GBR) 2,695 (-1)
17. Markéta Vondroušová (CZE) 2,651 (-1)
18. Qiang Wang (CHN) 2,593 (-1)
19. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 2,537
20. Sofia Kenin (USA) 2,460 (+2)
source: news.abs-cbn.com
Ashleigh Barty will become the first Australian in 43 years to climb to the top of the WTA singles ranking after she won the Birmingham Classic grasscourt title on Sunday.
The 23-year-old beat Germany's Julia Goerges 6-3 7-5 in the final, meaning she will knock Japan's Naomi Osaka off the summit when the new rankings are released on Monday.
"It's been the most incredible journey for me and my team," Barty said on court after a standing ovation from the crowd and a warm hug from her doubles partner Goerges.
"You always dream about (being number one) as a little kid but for it to become a reality it's incredible and not something that was even in my realm, we were aiming for top 10 this year."
Barty's route to the top has been nothing if not an unconventional one.
The former junior Wimbledon champion took an indefinite break from tennis at the end of 2014, recently citing mental health issues as the reason, and played Big Bash cricket for Brisbane Heat before returning to the sport in 2016.
Since then the Queenslander's rise has been remarkable.
"We started from scratch three and a half years ago without a ranking and now to be where we are is a massive achievement for me and my team," Barty, whose return has been overseen by coach Craig Tyzzer, said.
She won the Miami title this year to break into the top 10 for the first time, then this month she became the first Australian woman to win the French Open for 46 years.
Now she has become the 27th woman to reach number one since WTA rankings were introduced in 1975.
"She is a truly impressive person and deserves every success that comes her way. I couldn't be prouder to be her coach," Tyzzer told the WTA's website.
"Over the last three years, Ash has grown as a person and as a player. What has stayed constant is her genuine, humble and respectful nature."
Despite the prize at stake, Barty looked calm and composed throughout the final against doubles partner Goerges on Sunday, just as she did when beating Marketa Vondrousova in the Roland Garros final a fortnight ago.
Her only moment of concern was when she faced a set point at 4-5 in the second. But in true champion style she fired an ace.
Two games later a Goerges error confirmed Barty's coronation and the end of Osaka's 21-week stay at the summit.
The last Australian woman to reach the number one ranking was Evonne Goolagong in 1976 although it only came to light 31 years later after the discovery of an error in the records.
Like Goolagong, Barty is proud of her indigenous Australian heritage, with her father having Ngarigo ancestry through one of his grandmothers.
"I'm a little bit speechless, it's been a whirlwind few weeks to be honest and to be able to follow in the footsteps of Evonne and even mentioned in the same sentence is incredible," Barty, who will now be top seed at Wimbledon, said.
"What she has done for our sport and Australians all around the world, she put us on the map, and what she has done for indigenous Australians is remarkable."
There will be no elaborate celebrations for Barty, however, as she said she was getting straight in a car to head own to Eastbourne to continue her Wimbledon preparations.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
source: news.abs-cbn.com
PARIS, France -- Karolina Pliskova is the new world number one in the latest WTA rankings released on Monday despite never having won a major tournament.
The 25-year-old Czech jumped from third place to the top after world number two Simona Halep lost in the Wimbledon quarter-finals, and previous top ranked Angelique Kerber fell in the fourth round.
Pliskova becomes number one without ever having lifted one of the four majors in tennis.
She did however reach the US Open final last year, the French Open semi-finals this year and has won three tour titles in 2017: Brisbane, Doha and Eastbourne.
Rankings:
1. Karolina Pliskova (CZE) 6855 pts
2. Simona Halep (ROM) 6670
3. Angelique Kerber (GER) 5975
4. Johanna Konta (GBR) 5110
5. Garbine Muguruza (ESP) 4990
6. Elina Svitolina (UKR) 4935
7. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 4780
8. Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) 4500
9. Venus Williams (USA) 4461
10. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) 3985
10. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) 3985
11. Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) 3710
12. Jelena Ostapenko (LAT) 3530
13. Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) 3155
14. Petra Kvitová (CZE) 3135
15. Serena Williams (USA) 2810
16. Madison Keys (USA) 2353
17. Anastasija Sevastova (LAT) 2235
18. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) 2160
19. Elena Vesnina (RUS) 2121
20. Caroline Garcia (FRA) 1955
source: news.abs-cbn.com
