With a season that was shortened to just 27 tournaments as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic officially in the books, the WTA announced its year-end rankings for 2020 on Monday with Ashleigh Barty sitting atop the list.
Barty, the 2019 French Open champion competed in just four events in 2020 as a result of the pandemic, but largely made her results count: she reached the semifinals or better in three of them, winning her eighth career WTA title in Adelaide.
Traditionally, the WTA rankings are based on a 52-week system with results from a player’s best 16 tournaments for singles and 11 for doubles, but the tour froze its rankings in March when professional tennis was suspended worldwide, and revised its system for the rest of the year upon resumption in August.
Under the revised system, a player’s ranking is comprised of her best 16 results in singles and best 11 results in doubles based on the points earned between March 2019 through December 2020 and includes the “Better of 2019 and 2020” points earned at WTA and Grand Slam events.
The Aussie is the 11th player in tour history to finish as world No. 1 in consecutive seasons, and is followed in the rankings by world No. 2 Simona Halep. The Romanian has ranked inside the Top 10 for 336 consecutive weeks, which is not only the best active streak on tour, but ranks eighth all-time in WTA history. The biggest mover in the year-end rankings is American Sofia Kenin, who ends the year at No. 4. Ranked No. 14 at the end of last season, the 2020 Australian Open champion and French Open runner-up is the highest-ranked American of 18 in the year-end Top 100.
Reigning US Open champion Naomi Osaka, who beat Victoria Azarenka in a three-set final to win in New York this summer for the second time in the past three years, finishes at No. 3 for the second year running, while 2019 Open winner Bianca Andreescu secured the No. 7 position despite having not played a match in 2020.
The full year-end Top 10 can be found below:
1. Ashleigh Barty (AUS)
2. Simona Halep (ROU)
3. Naomi Osaka (JPN)
4. Sofia Kenin (USA)
5. Elina Svitolina (UKR)
6. Karolina Pliskova (CZE)
7. Bianca Andreescu (CAN)
8. Petra Kvitova (CZE)
9. Kiki Bertens (NED)
10. Aryna Sabalenka (BLR)
In doubles, Hsieh Su-wei of Chinese Taipei finishes as No. 1 for the first time in her career. Hsieh partnered Barbora Strycova to win a WTA-best four titles in 2020 in Brisbane, Dubai, Doha and Rome, and they also finished as runners-up at the Australian Open.
