Ashleigh Barty kicks off 100th career week at No. 1 on WTA rankings

Ashleigh Barty has already had a banner year, winning a tour-leading five WTA titles—including her second Grand Slam title at Wimbledon. And today she adds another feather to her cap, kicking off her milestone 100th career week at No. 1.

She’s the eighth woman to hit the milestone since WTA rankings began in 1975.

TOP 10 MOST CAREER WEEKS AT NO. 1 IN WTA RANKINGS HISTORY
377: Steffi Graf
332: Martina Navratilova
319: Serena Williams
260: Chris Evert
209: Martina Hingis
178: Monica Seles
117: Justine Henin
100: Ashleigh Barty
98: Lindsay Davenport
71: Caroline Wozniacki

Barty’s 100 career weeks at No. 1 have come in two stints. She first rose to the top spot on June 24, 2019 after winning the grass-court event in Birmingham—which was just a few weeks after she won her first Grand Slam title on clay at Roland Garros. She would spend seven weeks at the top of the WTA rankings before Naomi Osaka, the woman she had replaced, took it back on August 12, 2019.

But on September 9, 2019, four weeks later, Barty took it back again and hasn’t let go since—this week is her 93rd consecutive week there, which doesn’t include the 20 weeks the WTA rankings were frozen in 2020 due to COVID-19.

Barty’s five WTA titles this year have come across all three surfaces, and they’re all at the WTA 500 level or higher—she captured two WTA 500s in Melbourne (hard) and Stuttgart (clay), two WTA 1000s at Miami (hard) and Cincinnati (hard) and one Grand Slam title at Wimbledon (grass).

At Wimbledon, Barty became the first Australian woman to capture the Venus Rosewater Dish since Evonne Goolagong in 1980.

“It was the most incredible feeling I think I’ve ever experienced on a tennis court,” she said after her three-set victory over Karolina Pliskova in the final. “There was certainly disbelief. I think I’ve worked so hard my whole career with my team and with people that mean the most to me to try and achieve my goals and my dreams—and to be able to do that today was incredible.”

The 2019 Roland Garros and 2021 Wimbledon champion announced last weekend that she was ending her season and wouldn’t defend her WTA Finals title.

“I wanted to let everyone know I won’t be competing in any further tournaments in 2021, including the WTA Finals in Mexico,” she said in a statement. “It was a difficult decision, but I need to prioritize my body and my recovery from our 2021 season and focus on having the strongest pre-season for the Australian summer.

“With the ongoing challenges of travelling back to Queensland and quarantine requirements, I am not willing to compromise my preparation for January.”