Ash Barty has been holding onto the WTA World No.1 ranking since 2019. And often she has found herself to be well clear of the rest of the pack. Her closest rival has been Simona Halep, and the Romanian again has a small shot at Barty’s World No.1 position at the Australian Open 2021.

Currently, Barty has a mammoth lead of 1462 points over second-placed Halep. Barty has 8717 points whereas Barty has 7255. But in the next 3 weeks, a lot of points are on offer for Halep.

How important are the next 3 weeks for Simona Halep?

There are 3 tournaments that will commence in the coming weeks. Ash Barty leads the lineup in the WTA 500 event, Yarra Valley Classic. And Halep leads the lineup in the WTA 500 Gippsland Trophy. Then after these 2 tournaments comes Australian Open 2021.

Halep can win a maximum of 1690 points by winning both the Gippsland Trophy and the Australian Open 2021. If Halep wins Gippsland Trophy, she will earn 470 points.

Furthermore, Halep had reached the semifinals of the Australian Open 2020 thus she already has 780 points in her bag and by winning the Australian Open 2021 she will win a further 1220 points completing the 2000 points from the Grand Slam.

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But it also comes down to Barty. If Barty doesn’t earn any points from Yarra Valley Classic and Australian Open 2021, then an appearance in the final of Gippsland Trophy and Australian Open triumph will be enough to dethrone Barty.

But if Barty reaches the quarterfinal of Yarra Valley Classic, then Halep will have to win both the tournaments. And if Barty reaches the finals of Yarra Valley Classic, then Halep’s chance of dethroning Barty will have to wait.

How can Ash Barty keep her World No.1 ranking?

In the next 3 weeks if Barty manages to take 228 points then she will retain the World No.1 ranking until the end of the Australian Open.

Barty is playing at the Yarra Valley Classic. And here she can reach a maximum of 470 points. But if Barty reaches the finals, then she will earn 305 points, which will be enough to push her above Halep’s reach.

If Barty is unable to reach the finals of the Yarra Valley Classic, then she will have to reach the finals of the Australian Open 2021 to move clear of Halep.

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