The Australian, Ashleigh Barty has been having a triumphant 2019 tennis season so far, besides claiming her maiden Grand Slam title in Paris, the Australian becomes WTA’s new World Number one after claiming the Birmingham Classic title as she defeated the eight seed German, Julia Gorges 6-3, 7-5 in the final.

Ashleigh Barty becomes the first Australian woman to turn World Number one after Evonne Goolagong Cawley, who held the top ranking for a total of two weeks in 1976. On the ATP Tour, Lleyton Hewitt was the last Australian to dwell on the apex of tennis.

“I’m a little bit speechless at the moment,” Ashleigh Barty said after her victory. “It’s been a whirlwind few weeks for me, a whirlwind year, but to be able to follow in the footsteps of Evonne, even to be mentioned in the same sentence as her is incredible. What she’s done for our sport, for Australians all around the world, she’s put us on the map and what she’s done for indigenous Australians as well has just been remarkable.”

“You always dream of it [being world No 1] as a little kid but for it to become a reality is incredible. It’s not something that was even in my realm, this year we were aiming for top 10 and now to be where we are is a testament to all of the people around me,” she continued.

A few years ago, she strode on the cricket pitch in Big Bash League for Brisbane Heat and came back to tennis in 2016. And now, she rests on the summit of tennis with a Grand Slam title to her name.

“We started from scratch three and a half years ago without a ranking and now to be where we are is not only for me, but a massive, massive achievement for them,” Ashleigh Barty added.

Tomorrow, WTA will be releasing their refreshed ranking list and Ashleigh Barty will replace the Japanese, Naomi Osaka from the pinnacle of the WTA ladder as Osaka was halted by Yulia Putintseva in her second match in Birmingham. She becomes the 27th women on the WTA track to be ranked as the World Number one.

The French Open 2019 champion, Ashleigh Barty is presently dwelling on a 12-match winning streak on the women’s tour and this year she claimed three titles which incorporate her victories in Miami, Paris, and Birmingham and she will fly to Wimbledon as the top-seeded WTA player of the tournament.