Biggest movers: Barty cracks top 100
Ash Barty's rise into the world's top 100 was one of several impressive moves by Australia's young women in the latest WTA rankings.
Melbourne VIC 3004, Australia, 7 March 2017 | tennis.com.au
Ash Barty’s maiden WTA title in Kuala Lumpur has resulted in her top 100 debut.
The young Queenslander, who began in qualifying and won seven straight matches to lift the trophy, jumped 66 spots to world No.92 – a career-high ranking.
The move means Barty will now enjoy direct entry into major tournaments. And with no points to defend until June this year, she stands to rise higher should more strong performances follow.
The 20-year-old was not the only young Aussie female enjoying an impressive rise in the rankings.
Destanee Aiava, just 16, rose 33 spots to a career-best ranking of 220th, following on from her first professional title at the recent Perth Pro Tour event.
The Victorian is a stellar 13-4 in 2017 after beginning the year just inside the world’s top 400, and is likely to rise even higher next week after advancing to the semifinals of the $25,000 Pro Tour tournament in Clare last week.
Another big mover was Priscilla Hon.
The 18-year-old jumped 75 places to No.448 after reaching the semis in Perth, where she fell to Aiava.
As a result, Hon leap-frogged Alison Bai into the 10th spot in the Australian rankings.
On the men’s side, Blake Mott jumped 19 places to No.286 after advancing to the semifinals of the Yokohama Challenger in Japan.
Mott began in qualifying and won six matches on the trot before going down in three to Yuichi Sugita.