Ashleigh Barty is number 1 at the end of the year for the third time in a row - and in good company
Ashleigh Barty finished the 2021 season at the top of the world rankings for the third time in a row. Only four other players managed to do that.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Dec 13, 2021, 01:16 pm
On June 24, 2019, Barty climbed to the top of the WTA world rankings for the first time, also as a result of her first Grand Slam victory at the French Open. She then only had to let Naomi Osaka in for four weeks, since then Barty has been at the top, now a total of 105 weeks (plus 20, during which the world rankings were frozen due to the corona pandemic and suspended tournaments).
Barty-Triple: Only Evert, Navratilova, Graf and Williams did it
Barty now also ends the season as number 1 in the world, for the third time in a row. This hat trick has only been achieved by four players since the WTA world rankings were introduced: Chris Evert (1975-1977), Martina Navratilova (five years in a row, from 1982-1986), Steffi Graf (two times for four years in a row, from 1987 to 1990 and from 1993 to 1996) and Serena Williams (2013 to 2015).
By the way, Barty has clearly earned her top spot, even if she had already drawn the line under the 2021 season after the US Open. Before that, she had dominated the season, winning the WTA tournament in Melbourne, the Miami Open, the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Wimbledon and Cincinnati.