Ashleigh Barty is at the top of women's tennis for well over a year now and while many questioned her ranking the Australian is proving everyone wrong this year.
For the better part of 2020, Ashleigh Barty did not play electing to stay home in Australia sheltering herself from the coronavirus pandemic. With the protected ranking in place, it meant Barty was able to keep her number one ranking despite not playing.
Many called out that explaining that Osaka deserved to be number one and while it seemed like a fair point Barty is showing in 2021 that she is more than worthy. She played 6 finals winning 5 including Wimbledon. Her consistency is what is most impressive and
Aryna Sabalenka agrees:
"What she's doing, I think it's a goal for every player to be on the top for so long and be consistently there. That's something unbelievable. I would say this is the goal. For example, for me, I would
like to be on the top for such a long time and be there consistently."
Sabalenka is one of the rare players that actually defeated Barty in 2021 and it came in the Madrid Masters final. The duo played one week earlier in the Stuttgart final with Barty winnign that match. Sabalenka summarised her thoughts by once agains saying:
"That's something unbelievable. I'm impressed what she's doing."