
-With AAP.
1. “The sun’s still going to come up tomorrow.” Ash Barty reacts to her Wimbledon loss.
She may be returning home without the Wimbledon trophy, but Ashleigh Barty will still be loaded with the world No.1 ranking when she lobs in Brisbane this week for a well-deserved mid-season break.
Barty plans on celebrating her golden European summer with “maybe a beer or two” before jetting off to Australia to recharge her batteries before the American hardcourt swing.
Naomi Osaka’s first-round demise and Monday’s fourth-round departure of Karolina Pliskova ensures Barty will extend her stint atop the rankings for at least another two weeks.
That means the 23-year-old’s reign will eclipse the fortnight that Evonne Goolagong Cawley – the only other Australian to top the women’s rankings since they were introduced in 1973 – spent at No.1 in 1976.
“If we can hold on to the No.1 ranking, it would be great. But if we don’t, it’s not going to really change anything we do between now and our next event,” Barty said after her 3-6 6-2 6-3 loss to American Alison Riske on Monday.
While admitting she was deeply disappointed, Barty reflected on a successful few months.
“Overall it’s been a hell of a trip. Disappointed right now, obviously it’s a tough pill to swallow. In the same breath, it’s been an incredible few months. New ground for me here at Wimbledon. This is the best we’ve done,” she said.
“Today wasn’t my day. I didn’t win a tennis match. It’s not the end of the world. It’s a game. I love playing the game. I do everything in my power to try and win every single tennis match. But that’s not the case.