Women's world number 1, Ashleigh Barty announced that she won't play at the Western & Southern Open and US Open in Flushing Meadows this year.

The Aussie is currently the highest-ranked woman in the world. However, Ashleigh Barty can soon lose this spot. Speaking to Herald Sun, she revealed that she won't take part in this year's US Open. This decision came after talking to her team as they see risks related to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Barty reached the 4th round in the last two editions of the last Grand Slam of the year. She was stopped by Qiang Wang last year and lost to Karolina Pliskova in 2018. This year, Barty won't play the US Open for the first time since 2016.

"My team and I have decided that we won't be traveling to the US for the Western and Southern Open and the U.S. Open this year. I love both events so it was a difficult decision but there are still significant risks involved due to COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and I don't feel comfortable putting my team and I in that position. I wish the USTA all the best for the tournaments and look forward to being back in the U.S. next year, I will make my decision on the French Open and the surrounding WTA European tournaments in the coming weeks," said Barty.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CCnTV2_JQod/