Naomi Osaka lost her world no.1 rank a little more than 1 month ago after Ashleigh Barty won the title in Birmingham on the 23rd of June.
However, Naomi has now the chance to get back to the very top of the rankings if the stars align. Nevertheless, the Japanese is not the only one that can take over from Ashleigh Barty the world no.1 status as also Karolina Pliskova is in the mix.
How can Naomi be no.1 after the Rogers Cup?
Osaka crashed out in the opening match at the Rogers Cup last year at the hands of Carla Suarez Navarro (7-6 6-2). This means that she has no points to defend and, in the live rankings, she has 6228 points.
Conversely, Ashleigh Barty reached the semifinal last year in Montreal before losing to Simona Halep 6-4 6-1. This means that the world no.1 will “drop” 349 points in the live rankings and she starts her campaign with 6256 points.
Therefore, if Naomi wins the tournament or she “simply” goes 1 step (or round) further than Ashleigh, she will take back the world no.1 rank. At least in theory, because there is still 1 player that could spoil the party: Karolina Pliskova.
How Pliskova can become the new world no.1
Similarly to Naomi Osaka, Karolina also didn’t go very far last year in the Rogers Cup as she lost as early as in the 2nd round to Kiki Bertens (6-2 6-2). Therefore, the former world no.1 will commence her run in Toronto with 6050 points after dropping only 5 points in the live rankings.
This means Karolina will take back her world no.1 rank if she wins the tournament or she reaches the semifinal, and Barty doesn’t reach the round of 16 and Osaka the quarters. Similarly, Pliskova can become the world no.1 also if she is the runner-up and Naomi Osaka doesn’t reach the final in the other side of the draw.
This is going to be interesting!
| WORLD NO.1 AGAIN? |
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