Ashleigh Barty and Naomi Osaka are fighting for the world number one rank. The Australian sensation hasn’t played much in 2020 because of the pandemic. However, she remained number one because of the freezing of the rankings. Things are changing now, and Ashleigh is very well aware that in order to stay at the top of the rankings, she has to play more.
Barty’s schedules
Ashleigh has just conquered the Miami Open, and she’s about to play in Charleston. After that, she is going to compete back-to-back in Stuttgart, Madrid, and Rome before playing the French Open.
She recently stated:
“I’m excited to get on the green clay in Charleston. We’ll look forward to Europe and get on some red clay in Stuttgart, Madrid, Rome. That’s the plan for us. Stuttgart is a new tournament for me. Madrid, I love playing there, and obviously, Rome is a beautiful city before we go into Paris.”
Osaka’s schedules
Naomi Osaka is well known for not being so much happy about being on the road too much. She has recently admitted that she can easily burn out if she plays too many tournaments and gets homesick. Therefore, she decided to skip Stuttgart and be back on clay only on the occasion of the Madrid Open that will take place from the 26th of April.
The rankings
Currently, Ashleigh Barty leads Naomi Osaka for 1,201 points. The big difference in scheduling will most probably have Barty stay at the top of the rankings for much more.
Click here to see the rankings.
Ashleigh Barty in 2021
At the moment ranked no.1, Barty played her last match on the 3rd of April when she defeated world no.9 Bianca Andreescu 6-3 4-0 in the final in Miami to win her 10th career title.
Until now, during this year the Australian has managed to achieve a 14-2 record. Barty conquered 2 titles in 2021 in Melbourne and in Miami.
Naomi Osaka in 2021
Now ranked no.2, Naomi played her last match on the 31st of March when she was overcome by world no.25 Maria Sakkari 6-0 6-4 in the quarter in Miami (draw).
This season Naomi owns an overall 12-1 match record. The Japanese conquered 1 title at the Australian Open.
Ashleigh Barty and Naomi Osaka fought against each other 4 times. Their current record is 2-2. Previously, the last time they played, Naomi Osaka won 3-6 6-3 6-2 in the final in Beijing (China Open) in October 2019.
You can see them in action in the following highlights.
