Ash Barty, Australia‘s own world #1, has, alongside mens #1 Novak Djokovic, been officially named as the top seed at next week’s Wimbledon Grand Slam in London, as the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
[jwplayer bGO1zRES]
Wimbledon is one of four tournaments that don’t follow world rankings when picking their top seeds, instead factoring in previous grass-court results to come up with a sometimes-different result. While their system hasn’t changed the #1 spot, it has caused Rafael Nadal, ranked #2, to slide to third seed, after Roger Federer.
Barty pulled out of the Eastbourne International yesterday, citing a longstanding bone stress injury in her serving arm. She’s taking the week to recuperate after winning the Birmingham Classic against Julia Goerges on Sunday and rising to the top spot. In so doing, she became the first Aussie woman to rank #1 since Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1976.
When asked to describe her life since blitzing her way to #1 – off the back of a streak of 12 wins – Barty told media “it’s been the most incredible time of my life“.
“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind over the last 24 hours, over the last month,” she said. “I’m so proud of my team, the work that they do. I really do have the best team in the world.”
This week’s time of rest and respite means Ash Barty has had the chance to catch the Australian men’s cricket team slogging it out in the World Cup at Lord’s, where they beat out England by 64 runs for a spot in the semis.
The former Brisbane Heat Big Bash player seemed pretty chuffed ’bout it.
Unbelievable day at Lords 🥰
Thank you Finchy and JL for inviting us and putting on a clinic!!
What a venue 🏏😍 pic.twitter.com/lP1Hf0M3sK— Ash Barty (@ashbarty) June 25, 2019
Sending all the good luck and restorative vibes to OUR world #1.
