Since the dawn of Open tennis in 1968, a combined total of 51 men and women have known the singular feeling of standing alone at the end of the US Open fortnight. Fifty years, 51 champions.
Ask any of those 51 and they’ll tell you—it takes so much more than talent to win here. You need the whole package: intelligence, desire, stamina, courage. You need to own every shot in the book, and when that’s not enough, you need to be ready to write a new chapter or two. Indeed, the courts of the US Open are tennis’ ultimate proving grounds. If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.
Twelve former champions are in the field at the 2019 US Open, which figures to make adding to the total of 51 that much more difficult. But there are a number of players with the talent and tenacity to make the difficult disappear; a group which just may have the stuff to claim tennis’ toughest title. As we look forward to the 2019 US Open, USOpen.org takes a closer look at some of those players, asking the question: “Who’s 52?”
In this installment: Ashleigh Barty
It’s safe to call 2019 a career year for Ashleigh Barty. The 23-year-old Australian’s ascension to a world No. 1 ranking has included personal-best finishes at the first three majors of the year—including her first Grand Slam singles title, the 2019 French Open. Barty’s career best at the US Open was the Round of 16 last year. There’s every reason to think she can improve on that result—and no reason to think she can’t win it all.
“I think any time I can play my brand of tennis, I know that I can match it against the best in the world,” Barty told reporters after winning at Roland Garros in June.
That victory propelled Barty to the No. 1 ranking, though her upward trajectory has really been in effect for the past two-plus years. Barty had stepped away from tennis in 2015—famously trying her hand at cricket—and her return in 2016 was limited due to an arm injury. It was on hard courts in 2017 when she began to make her mark.
In reaching the Round of 16 at the 2017 Cincinnati Open, Barty’s victory over then ninth-ranked Venus Williams was her first career win against a Top-10 opponent. After losing to eventual champion Sloane Stephens in Round 3 at the 2017 US Open, she notched three more Top-10 wins while reaching the final at the Wuhan Open. By the end of 2017, Barty was ranked No. 17, and she has been a force ever since.
Despite her diminutive frame—she’s listed at 5-5—Barty possesses a very effective serve and an all-court game that’s been compared to 1997 US Open champ Martina Hingis. A successful doubles player, she is very comfortable coming up to the net to attack.
Speaking of doubles, it’s worth noting that Barty already knows what it’s like to be a champion at Flushing Meadows: She and CoCo Vandeweghe won the 2018 US Open women’s doubles title. For what it’s worth, she also won the 2018 US Open Sportsmanship Award.
When Barty stepped away from tennis after the 2014 US Open, she said it was simply a matter of things happening too quickly at a young age. When she won the French Open this year, she told reporters that her time away from the sport absolutely has contributed to how she’s played since coming back.
“For me, I needed time to step away, to live a normal life, because this tennis life certainly isn't normal,” she said. “I think I needed time to grow as a person, to mature.”
That maturity will be key in helping Barty remain atop of the women’s rankings. In her first major after winning at Roland Garros, Barty breezed through the first three rounds before losing a three-setter to unseeded American Alison Riske.
“For me, nothing has really changed,” Barty told reporters at Wimbledon about how it feels to be ranked No. 1. “I try to go about it the same way, the right way, the way that I believe works for me and my team. I think it's been a really, really positive couple of months for us.”
Barty’s year of firsts began at the Sydney International in January, where she notched her first win over a No. 1-ranked player—defeating then top-ranked Simona Halep. Two months later, she captured her first Premier Mandatory title at the Miami Open. Along the way, she defeated No. 3 Petra Kvitova in the quarters and No. 7 Karolina Pliskova in the final.
Barty is the first Aussie woman to be ranked No. 1 since her idol, Evonne Goolagong, in 1976.
“To be able to follow in the footsteps of Evonne and even to be mentioned in the same sentence with her is incredible,” Barty said after winning the Birmingham Cup in June.
Goolagong won seven Grand Slam singles titles in her career but fell short in all four of her US Open final appearances. With a strong showing in Flushing Meadows, Barty has a chance to do something her idol has never done.
To read more from this series, visit our "Who's 52?" landing page.
