Tennis' world number one Ashleigh Barty did not have to worry about winning the final of the Miami Open, she led 6-3, 4-0 when final opponent Bianca Andreescu was forced to interrupt the match with a foot injury.
The aftertaste was less about Barty's victory in her first tournament outside Australia since 2019, and more about her truly being a worthy world number one.
- It does not concern me at all.
I mean, people talk and I can not do much about what they think so I put no energy on it, Barty says at the press conference after the victory.
The debate comes after Barty stayed at home during the pandemic and did not compete at all between January 2020 and February this year, but who, thanks to the WTA's ranking system, which takes into account the pandemic's effects on the game schedule, still retained the place as world number one.
At the same time as runner-up Naomi Osaka won both the French championships in Paris last year and the Australian Open in February this year, where Barty went to the quarterfinals.
- I know that there has been a lot of talk about the ranking.
No, I did not lose any points (last year), but I did not get any new ones either.
There were others who had the chance to improve their points, so I think I deserve my place at the top, says Barty, who also does not want to hear that the victory in Miami would prove that she is worthy of first place.
- I do not have to prove anything to anyone else.
I know how much work I and my team have put in behind the scenes.
The 24-year-old from Ipswich, west of Brisbane, is now focusing on the gravel season and perhaps a new title in the French championships after the victory there in 2019.
- If I get an equally good gravel season as then, it would be fantastic, but if it does not happen, it is not the whole world either.