Baseline Awards of 2019: Most improved player
Ranked outside the top 10 at the start of the year, Ashleigh Barty finished at No. 1.
On the WTA Tour, a number of players shaved dozens of spots off their year-end rankings from a season ago.
However, when you go from outside the top 10 to the No. 1 spot, that’s a special type of improvement.
Ashleigh Barty, who has made nothing but strides in her return to the game from an extended break to play cricket a few years ago, finished 2019 on top of the standings, displaying her unique versatility along the way.
She won four titles under four different playing conditions. Her first victory came at the Premier 5 event in Miami, which lifted her into the top 10 for the first time. The Australian’s next title came at the most prestigious clay-court event of them all, the French Open.
After her history-making win in Paris, which lifted her to No. 2 in the world, Barty took her next step up the rankings by making it to the top of the WTA penthouse by capturing the grass-court event in Birmingham, England. Though she didn’t win again for several months afterward, the 23-year-old put an end to that drought by triumphing at the WTA Finals.
Rankings-wise, there isn’t much she can do to improve. Deeper runs at the other Slams will surely be a focus for her in 2020—and at the pace she’s been going the past few years, expect more major prizes to come her way.
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