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via Reuters

via Reuters

Australian World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty reached yet another milestone in the latest WTA rankings. It is indeed an achievement that would not see a challenger for some time ahead.

Chiefly, the 24-year-old Aussie star has completed 74 weeks at the pinnacle of the WTA rankings. At 9186 points, she has a strong grip on the numero uno spot.

Interestingly, World No. 2 Naomi Osaka had a chance to replace her in Miami; however, she crashed out in the quarterfinals. Consequently, the Queenslander, who is presently two matches away from a successful title-defense, will spend many more weeks at the top spot.

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Ashleigh Barty’s incredible World No. 1 milestone

USA Today via Reuters

With 74 weeks to her name, Ashleigh Barty has made the cut into the elite group of players. She first became World No. 1 after winning the 2019 French Open and Birmingham Open back-to-back. Although she lost her rank to Osaka after Wimbledon, she regained it following the 2019 WTA Finals victory.

Since then, the Aussie star has been guarding the rank impeccably. Moreover, due to the coronavirus outbreak, the ranking points were frozen, which helped her case.

In fact, she has now spent more weeks at World No. 1 than Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova, Kim Clijsters, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, and Garbine Muguruza altogether. This stat helps put the extent of her achievement out in the clear.

Additionally, Serena Williams (319 weeks) is the only active player ahead of Barty. Overall, the Australian trails behind Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Martina Hingis, Monica Seles, Justine Henin, and Lindsay Davenport.

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Who will Ashleigh Barty face next at Miami Open 2021?

USA Today via Reuters

Top seed Ash Barty will face fifth seed Elina Svitolina in the Miami Open 2021 semi-finals. In case she manages to defend her 2019 title, she will also secure her 1000 points earned then. Eventually, it would help her spend more time as World No. 1.

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Also, the Aussie star loves to play on red dirt and would be looking forward to the upcoming clay season. All in all, it looks good and in favor of Barty until the French Open 2021. Let us see how far she can stretch her World No. 1 lead.

Will Barty stay at the top of the rankings throughout 2021, or Osaka will manage to topple her before that?

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Also Read: “Extremely Tough For Me”: Elina Svitolina Reflects on Her Previous Heartbreaking Loss to Ashleigh Barty