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Ashleigh Barty announced her retirement on Wednesday, sending shock waves throughout the tennis fraternity. The World No. 1 had won the Australian Open only two months earlier, and was on track to complete the Career Grand Slam at the US Open.
Since becoming World No. 1 for the first time on June 24, 2019, the three-time Grand Slam champion has spent all but four weeks at the top of the WTA rankings. Overall, the 25-year-old sits seventh on the all-time list with her haul of 120 weeks (as of Monday) as the top-ranked women's tennis player.
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It is currently unclear whether Barty has asked to be removed from the rankings list, as Justine Henin did after her retirement in 2008. Even if she hasn't, there are a handful of players who can catch up with the Australian in a month or two. Here's a look at five of them:
#5 Aryna Sabalenka
Aryna Sabalenka is currently ranked World No. 5, but the Belarusian remained the closest to Ashleigh Barty for an extended period of time last year. With her haul of 4,862 points as of right now, the former World No. 2 is 3,118 points away from Barty's 7,980.
But with the Australian dropping 1,000 points in Miami, the lead gets reduced to 2,118 points. Sabalenka reached the quarterfinals last year (losing against Barty), meaning that she is defending a total of 205 points at the event.
The 23-year-old can reach 5,647 points by winning the Miami Open, putting her a bit short of current World No. 2 Iga Swiatek's tally. As a result, she will have to wait atleast until the clay season begins to reach the top spot.
#4 Maria Sakkari
One of the most consistent performers on the WTA tour last year, Maria Sakkari is currently ranked World No. 3. With her haul of 5,085 points, the Greek is 2,895 points behind Ashleigh Barty.
The 26-year-old reached the semifinals in Miami last year and is defending a total of 380 points in the event. Sakkari can move to 5,695 points by winning the Miami Open. Like Sabalenka, the Greek will also have to wait until the clay season to ascend to the No. 1 spot.
#3 Barbora Krejcikova
Barbora Krejcikova ascended to the World No. 2 spot a few weeks back, but an unfortunate elbow injury forced the Czech out of the Sunshine Double. Krejcikova has since slipped to the No. 4 position.
With 5,033 points to her name, the reigning Roland Garros champion is 2,947 points behind Ashleigh Barty. She has no chance of gaining points in Miami and the former World No. 2 will need multiple deep runs on clay to outdo the rest of the playing field.
#2 Paula Badosa
Paula Badosa slipped a little from her career-high World No. 4 ranking after failing to defend her title at the Indian Wells Open. Now placed at No. 6, the Spaniard is 3,190 points behind Ashleigh Barty.
Badosa reached the second round in Miami last year and is only defending a total of 25 points in the event. The 24-year-old can reach a haul as high as 5755 points by winning the tournament, putting her just shy of Iga Swiatek.
If Barty is removed from the rankings, Badosa has a shot at becoming the World No. 1 as early as next week. The World No. 6 will require Swiatek to lose her opener in Miami, whilst going all the way herself to claim the top spot.
#1 Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek has been on a roll in 2022 so far, winning two WTA 1000 events on the trot. A win in Miami would make her the first woman since Serena Williams to win three consecutive tournaments at this level. But even more importantly, the Pole can move closer to the World No. 1 spot over the next fortnight.
As of now, Swiatek has 5776 points to her name. She reached the third round of last year's edition of the Miami Open, meaning that the World No. 2 is defending a total of only 55 points in the tournament.
If Barty is removed from the rankings, the Pole will be guaranteed the World No. 1 position just by winning her opening match. But if Barty is not removed, Swiatek could close to within 80 points of the Australian by winning in Miami, which would give her a total of 6711 points.
From then on, it will only be a matter of time before the 20-year-old claims the top spot for herself during the clay swing.
