Australian tennis player Ashleigh Barty if showing promise in the tune-up for the U.S. Open that begins at the end of August, claiming the biggest win of her career with a 6 – 3, 2 – 6, 6 – 2 victory over Venus Williams.
Williams is currently ranked number nine in the world, while Barty is 48th. It was the first win of her career over a top-10 player.
Venus Williams has seven grand slam championships to her credit and the number would be higher but for her younger sister Serena, who has beaten Venus in the final of a major championship on more than one occasion.
Quoted on the World Tennis Association website, Barty said, “It feels really good. To play Venus on such a big stage is a privilege for me and to play as well as I did, I’m really excited. She’s a genuine champion of the game and paved the way for us young players coming through. It’s an honour for me to … share the court with her, and happy to be moving on.”
Most similar instances usually result in the lower ranked player commenting that the honour was just in competing, but on this occasion, Barty has the extra bonus of having the win.
Barty is just 21 and seemingly has her best years ahead of her, while Venus Williams is 37 and knows that her clock is winding down, even though she continues to play at a very high level. She finished runner up to Serena in this year’s Australian Open and the recently played Wimbledon Championships, where she lost to Garbine Muguruza.
The match took close to two hours and it will be interesting to see if Barty has a letdown in her upcoming match against former world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki.
The young Ipswich, Queensland native turned professional when she was just 14 and she has been a regular fixture in Doubles finals at the Grand Slam level since 2013.
