Ashleigh Barty is scheduled to play his first tournament outside of the Australian, namely at the Miami Open after more than a season.
The 24-year-old has not played outside Australia since advancing to the semifinals in Doha more than 12 months ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, she has only played three tournaments, including this season’s Australian Open when she advanced to the quarter-finals before losing to Karolina Muchova.
“You weigh risk for your reward and what you want to receive,” Barty told Channel Nine about traveling internationally again.
“I feel, right now we are in a comfortable position, knowing that the tournament is doing the right thing and we are going to a safe environment.”
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Despite the limited number of tournaments he has played, the Australian national still ranks 1st in the world due to changes made by the WTA in its ranking calculations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He has remained in that position since September 2019 and has spent more weeks as world number 1 compared to Simona Halep and Victoria Azarenka.
However, the 2019 French Open champion faces an uphill task to defend that position ahead of the 2021 Miami Open, where he is the defending champion with 1,000 points he must defend.
Last season, the Miami Open was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Australian national’s biggest threat is the Australian Open champion in 2021, Naomi Osaka who only has 65 points to defend after losing early at the 2019 Miami Open. Osaka has won the last two Grand Slam titles and she is currently 1,351 points behind the national Australia.
“I’m looking forward to competing again. I think the thing that makes me feel the most happy is getting back into the tournament and testing myself against the best tennis players, “exclaimed Ashleigh Barty.
The draw for the Miami Open this season has been decided. The world number 1 received a bye in the first round and will start his journey in Miami against a qualifier.
Meanwhile, the world number 2, Osaka will start her campaign in Miami by competing against Anastasia Potapova or Ajla Tomljanovic. Nine out of ten female tennis players in the top 10 will participate in Miami.
