After more than a year Ash Barty is set to play her first tournament outside of Australia at the Miami Open.
The 24-year-old hasn’t played internationally since reaching the semi-finals of the Qatar Open more than 12 months ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then she has only played in three tournaments, including the Australian Open earlier this year where she reached the quarter-finals before losing to Karolina Muchova.
“You weigh up the risk for your reward, and what you’re willing to accept,” Barty recently told Channel Nine about travelling internationally once again.
“I feel like now we are in a comfortable position, knowing that the tour is doing the right things and we are going to be in a safe environment.”
Despite the limited number of tournaments she has been able to play, Barty has maintained her No.1 position due to changes made to the WTA rankings calculations related to the pandemic. She has held the top spot continuously since September 2019 and has spent more weeks as No.1 than Simona Halep and Victoria Azarenka.
However, the Australian faces a tough task of trying to maintain her position heading into the Miami Open where she is the defending champion with 1000 ranking points at stake. Last year’s tournament was cancelled due to COVID-19. Barty’s biggest threat is Naomi Osaka who has just 65 points to defend after suffering an early loss in the 2019 event. Osaka is currently on a 21-match winning streak and has won the two most recent Grand Slams. The Japanese player is currently 1351 points behind Barty.
“I’m looking forward to competing again. I think first and foremost I’m excited to get back out there and test myself against the best,” Barty stated.
The draw for the women’s tournament has already taken place. Barty has a bye in the first round and will start her campaign against a qualifier. Later in the tournament she could play Alison Riske in the third round followed by Azarenka.
Meanwhile, Osaka will start her bid against either Anastasia Potapova or Ajla Tomljanovic. In her quarter she could play Yulia Putintseva in the third round followed potentially by either Elise Mertens or Anett Kontaveit.
Nine out of the women’s top 10 players are taking part in Miami. The only exception is Serena Williams who withdrew on Sunday after undergoing oral surgery.
Full draw

