Ash Barty increases her lead atop WTA rankings after fourth round Wimbledon exit

Brendan Bradford

Ash Barty increases her lead atop WTA rankings after fourth round Wimbledon exit image

Ash Barty has increased her advantage at the top of the WTA rankings after her fourth round exit at Wimbledon last week. 

The updated rankings, which were confirmed overnight, saw Barty move further ahead of second placed Naomi Osaka, who crashed out in the first round.

Wimbledon champion Simona Halep moved up three spots to fourth, while Karolina Pliskova's fourth round exit saw her remain in third. 

Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens drops below Halep to fifth, with Petra Kvitova, Elina Svitolina, Sloane Stephens, Serena Williams and Aryna Sabalenka rounding out the top 10. 

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Williams, who was beaten by Halep in the final at the All England club on Saturday, moves inside the top 10 for the first time since her return to the tour after giving birth. 

Former world number one Angelique Kerber suffered another shock Grand Slam result, bundled out in the second round by American Lauren Davis. 

It follows up a first round defeat at the French Open a month earlier and sees the German drop a massive eight places to 13th in the rankings. 

American teen sensation Coco Gauff, who advanced to the fourth round after entering the tournament as a wildcard, rose 172 places to 141 in the world. 

Along the way, the 15-year-old upset Venus Williams, Magdalena Rybarikova and Polona Hercog before losing to Halep in the round of 16. 

After suffering a three-set defeat to American Alison Riske, Barty now has 6605 ranking points, with Osaka on 6257 and Pliskova on 6055.

Barty returned to Australia to a hero's welcome on the weekend, bringing her hugely successful European summer swing to an end. 

Over the previous two months, Barty won her debut Grand Slam at Roland Garros, following it up with a win at Birmingham two weeks later. 

The 23-year-old became the first Australian woman to rise to number one in the world since Evonne Goolagong.

The next highest ranked Australian is 44th placed Ajla Tomljanovic, with Astra Sharma up five places to 89th and Daria Gavrilova down 17 spots to 91. 

 

Brendan Bradford