Ashleigh Barty was widely criticized for maintaining the top of the rankings even if she didn’t play many tournaments in 2020. The Australian sensations decided not to compete anymore after the global pandemic struck the world, taking advantage of the fact that the ranking points remained frozen. Many thought that it was fair that Naomi Osaka would be the world number 1 after she conquered back-to-back the US Open and the Australian Open.
Nevertheless, Ashleigh Barty demonstrated once again that she’s the deserving world number 1. After stumbling in the Australian Open quarters, the Australian champion won the Miami Open and now the tournament in Stuttgart. This means that after winning a warm-up tournament in Melbourne before the slam, Barty already has three titles under her belt in 2021.
After winning the tournament in Germany, Barty is also the world no.1 in the year-to-date rankings preceding Naomi Osaka with 71 points (2471 vs. 2400).
Ashleigh Barty and Naomi Osaka will both play in the economy WTA 1000 event in Madrid. They will be the top seeds.
Ashleigh Barty in 2021
At the moment ranked no.1, Ashleigh played her last match on the 25th of April when she beat world no.7 Aryna Sabalenka 3-6 6-0 6-3 in the final in Stuttgart to win her 11th career title.
Presently, during this year Ashleigh owns an overall 20-3 match record. Barty has won 3 titles in 2021 in Melbourne, in Miami and in Stuttgart.
Naomi Osaka in 2021
Ranked world no.2, Naomi played her last match on the 31st of March when she capitulated to world no.19 Maria Sakkari 6-0 6-4 in the quarter in Miami (draw).
This year Osaka has achieved a compiled 12-1 match record. Naomi has won 1 title at the Australian Open.
Ashleigh Barty and Naomi Osaka faced off 4 times. The head to head is 2-2. The last time they competed against each other, 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.
