Stat of the Day: Ashleigh Barty becomes first woman to 35 wins in 2021

World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty had a phenomenal fortnight at Wimbledon this year, not just winning the Venus Rosewater Dish for the first time, but also picking up her second career Grand Slam title, having won her first on the red clay of Roland Garros in 2019.

“It was the most incredible feeling I’ve ever experienced on a tennis court,” she said after the match. “There was certainly disbelief. I’ve worked so hard my whole career with my team and with people that mean the most to me to try and achieve my goals and my dreams, and to do that today was incredible.”

But her 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3 win over Karolina Pliskova also cemented Barty’s status as the leading performer on the women’s tour this year in several ways. Not only is she the first player to win four WTA titles this season, having also won the Yarra Valley Classic in Melbourne, Miami and Stuttgart, she’s now also the first player to reach 35 wins this year. She improved to 35-6 on the year with her gutsy win over Pliskova, breaking a tie with Aryna Sabalenka, who’s 34-11 so far this season.

Barty is also the WTA’s ace leader for the year with 262 now, as well as No.1 on both the WTA rankings and the year-to-date standings, which lead up to the season-ending WTA Finals.

Long story short, Barty’s the player to beat right now.