What Barty’s exit means for No. 1 ranking

Good news, Australian tennis fans! Ash Barty’s No. 1 world ranking is safe … for now.

Barty’s French Open campaign came to a startling halt on Thursday evening after she was forced to pull out of her second round match against Poland’s Magda Linette.

Battling through a pre-existing hip injury, Barty was trailing 6-1 2-2 against the world No. 54 when she called it quits in the second set.

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The 25-year-old will subsequently cop a heavy reduction to her WTA rankings points tally, but is not at risk of slipping down the ladder just yet.

Ash Barty will remain No. 1 … for now.Source:Getty Images

Having clinched her maiden grand slam title at Paris two years ago, Barty was defending 2000 ranking points at Roland Garros, and her second-round exit means she will lose 1955 points on the WTA rankings.

The Australian’s overall tally therefore drops down to 8229, which would have left the door wide open for world No. 2 Naomi Osaka to pounce.

But the Japanese star’s withdrawal from the French Open following her controversial media boycott keeps Barty safe at No. 1 for now.

If Osaka had progressed through to the Roland Garros final, she would have been crowned the new world No. 1.

It was reported on Friday the 23-year-old Osaka had also pulled out of a grass-court tournament in Berlin starting on June 14.

The only other player who would have statistically had a chance of overtaking Barty during the French Open was world No. 3 Simona Halep, but the Romanian withdrew from the grand slam tournament with a calf injury.

Looking at the rankings and who is closest behind Barty, it would appear her #1 ranking is safe in the immediate future — barring something like a Sabalenka title run and subsequent winning streak.

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Barty has enjoyed a streak of 72 consecutive weeks as the world No. 1, despite skipping the 2020 tour due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Queenslander vacated her Roland Garros title last year to teen phenom Iga Swiatek, who qualified for the third round on Friday morning.

Barty has won three titles this year and reached the Madrid final, but an arm injury at the Italian Open forced her out of the quarter-finals.

WTA Rankings (as of May 30)

1. Ashleigh Barty (AUS) — 10,175

2. Naomi Osaka (JPN) — 7,461

3. Simona Halep (ROU) — 6,520

4. Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) — 6,195

5. Sofia Kenin (USA) — 5,865

6. Elina Svitolina (UKR) — 5,835

7. Bianca Andreescu (CAN) — 5,325

8. Serena Williams (USA) — 4,821

9. Iga Swiatek (POL) — 4,435

10. Karolina Plíšková (CZE) — 4,345

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