We’re still in ~Barty Party~ mode after our very own Ash Barty took out the French Open a fortnight ago — her very first Grand Slam win and the first for an Aussie since Sam Stosur won the US Open in 2011.
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And in the lead-up to Ash’s next big challenge, the UK Grand Slam tournament Wimbledon, there’s an exciting milestone on the horizon: the world number 1 ranking.
According to AAP, Ash needs to win just three matches to yank the coveted #1 spot out of Japanese player Naomi Osaka‘s hot little hands. Osaka has been number one since she took out the Australian Open in January, but crashed out of the Birmingham Classic this week, losing in a shock upset to Kazakhstan‘s Yulia Putintseva.
This means Ash just needs to win three matches on the trot to take the top spot, and if she manages to make the final of the Birmingham Classic she’ll also go into Wimbledon as the number one seed.
If Ash becomes world number one, she’ll be the first Australian woman to reach that coveted spot in 43 years, with the last being Yvonne Goolagong Cawley in 1976.
Ash faces Venus Williams at 11pm tonight AEST for a spot in the final four of the Birmingham Classic. Get it, girl.
