First French Open champion, now world No. 1: Ashleigh Barty is on fire

From French Open champion to new world No. 1: Ashleigh Barty is having a month to remember.

On Sunday, Barty defeated Julia Goerges, 6-3, 7-5, in the Birmingham final, to clinch the world No. 1 ranking, overtaking current holder Naomi Osaka. Barty is just the second Australian woman to summit the top of the WTA singles rankings, joining Evonne Goolagong Cawley, who achieved the feat in 1976, spending two weeks in the driver's seat.

“You always dream of it as a little kid, but for it to become a reality is just incredible,” Barty said of reaching No. 1 in the world in her on-court speech. “It’s a testament to all of the people around me. I’ve had some incredible people with me these last few years. We started from scratch three and a half years ago without a ranking, so to get to No. 1 isn’t just incredible for me, but it’s also a massive achievement for them.”

Barty went into the French Open ranked No. 8, which was her career-high at the time, but she surged to No. 2 after lifting her first Grand Slam title on the terre battue. She's won 12 successive matches and did not drop a set en route to claiming the Birmingham title.

“I’m a little bit speechless at the moment,” Barty said. “It’s been a whirlwind few weeks for me, and a whirlwind year, too - and just to be mentioned in the same sentence as Evonne is just incredible. What she’s done for Australians, and particularly Indigenous Australians, is just remarkable.”

Barty showed tremendous nerves of steel in the second set of the final versus Goerges. Not only did she battle back from 3-0 down to get back on serve, but she even faced a set point serving 4-5, 30-40. She swatted it away with an ace, and eventually broke Goerges one last time at 5-all to serve for the match. The German missed a slice backhand on match point to give Barty the victory.

The Australian finished the match with 18 winners—nine of which were aces—to 11 unforced errors.

“I just had to go for it. I had no other choice,” Barty said of her big serving. “Anytime I left the ball hanging she was just punishing me, so I had to really push that little bit extra to come out on top.”

Goerges fought back tears as she congratulated her good friend during the trophy presentation.

“It’s a special moment. I’m very happy I can share it with you,” she said. “Becoming No. 1 in the world is a special thing. You’ve become a great friend of mine and I’m very happy you achieved this goal.”

Barty added, "[Julia], I couldn’t think of a better person to share the court with today. You’re one of my best friends on the tour. You’ve been there for me since I was a little tucker running around annoying everyone. You always practiced with me - I can’t think of anyone better to share the court with now.”

So what’s next for Barty?

“We’ll get in the car and go down to Eastbourne!” she said.

Another Premier-level grass court tournament, the Nature Valley International, takes place in Eastbourne this week, with The Championships, Wimbledon kicking off a week from Monday.

The week was one to remember for Goerges, too, as the German not only reached her first WTA final since winning Auckland in January—and her first Premier final since last April—but she also found her best tennis just in time for Wimbledon, where she reached her first Major semifinal last year, falling to Serena Williams.

Goerges is also competing in Eastbourne this week. She and Barty could meet in the semifinals.