Ashleigh Barty has achieved her childhood dream to be named the world’s top female player.
Barty took the world No.1 ranking* after winning the Birmingham WTA title on Sunday, beating her usual doubles partner Julia Goerges 6-3, 7-5.
The 23-year-old French Open champion has now achieved the same ranking as Evonne Goolagong Cawley — another indigenous Australian — who held the world top spot for a fortnight in 1976.
Only four Australians other than Barty have held the No.1 crown since computer rankings were introduced in 1973 — Goolagong Cawley, John Newcombe, Pat Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt.
Barty replaces Japan’s Naomi Osaka as women’s world No.1 just three years after she returned to tennis after taking time off to play cricket.
“I mean you always dream of it as a little kid, but for it to become a reality is incredible, it really is,” said Barty.
“We started from scratch* without a ranking and now to be where we are, not only for me, is a massive, massive achievement for them,” Barty said of her team.
She added it was an honour to follow in Goolagong Cawley’s footsteps.
“To be able to follow in the footsteps of Evonne, even to be mentioned in the same sentence as her, is incredible,” said Barty.
“What she’s done for our sport, for Australians all around the world, not (those) just based in Australia, she’s put us on the map.
“And what she’s done for indigenous Australians is just remarkable.”
Barty said her celebrations would have to be pretty low key with the famous Wimbledon tournament starting on Monday.
“We’ll just be very boring, to be completely honest, we’ve got a big couple of weeks coming up,” she said.
GLOSSARY
- ranking: in order of importance
- scratch: nothing or the start of something
EXTRA READING
Heartbreak as Matildas crash out of World Cup
Girl, 10, youngest ever to climb El Capitan
QUICK QUIZ
- What is Ashleigh Barty’s world ranking?
- Who is the only other Australian woman to achieve the same ranking?
- Name three other Aussies who have held No.1 since computer rankings came in.
- What other sport did Barty play before returning to tennis?
- Who did Barty defeat in the Birmingham final?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
VCOP ACTIVITY
Openers
Use your VCOP skills to highlight all the sentence openers in this article. Once you have your list, work with a partner to make them into flashcards.
Place the flashcards face up between the two of you and create a new story using a fact or topic idea from the article.
See if you can get through all your flashcards.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you think Ashleigh Barty can win Wimbledon?
No one-word answers. Use full sentences to explain your thinking. No comments will show until approved by editors.