Ashleigh Barty has brought her season to an end after deciding against travelling to Mexico for the WTA Finals because of Australia’s strict quarantine rules.
Barty, who won the lucrative season-ending tournament when it was last held in the Chinese city of Shenzen two years ago, returned home to Queensland last month after more than six months on the road. Since overseas arrivals in the Australian state are required to undertake a fortnight in quarantine, she would need to endure a second spell in isolation were she to defend her title in Guadalajara.
That would in turn cut short the world No 1’s preparations for the Australian Open, which begins in Melbourne on 17 January. It was, said Barty in a statement, a compromise she was unwilling to make.
“I wanted to let everyone know that I won’t be competing in any further tournaments in 2021, including the WTA Finals in Mexico,” said Barty, whose last appearance was at the US Open, where she was beaten in the third round by Shelby Rogers.
“It was a difficult decision but I need to prioritise my body and my recovery from our 2021 season and focus on having the strongest pre-season for the Australian summer. With the ongoing challenges of travelling back to Queensland and quarantine requirements, I am not willing to compromise my preparation for January.
“I wish the WTA team and the players all the best for a successful WTA Finals and rest of the year.”
Barty has enjoyed an outstanding season, winning Wimbledon to lift the second major of her career in addition to claiming titles in Melbourne, Miami, Stuttgart and Cincinnati. Her absence in Guadalajara opens the door for the ninth-placed player in the race to the WTA Finals to qualify. That is currently Ons Jabeur, who has 3,020 points. The Tunisian leads Naomi Osaka – also a doubt for the event after saying following her defeat to Leylah Fernandez at the US Open that she planned to take an indefinite break from tennis – by 249 points.
Elina Svitolina lies eleventh in the race on 2,501 points, closely followed by Jessica Pegula (2,500), Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (2,449), Elise Mertens (2,447), Anett Kontaveit (2,441) and Angelique Kerber (2,387).
Kontaveit will narrow the gap to Jabeur following her run to the final of this week’s Kremlin Cup. The Estonian, who followed up her quarter-final win over Garbiñe Muguruza with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Marketa Vondrousova, will face Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia in the final of the WTA 500 event. Alexandrova advanced after Maria Sakkari, the third seed, retired at 4-1 down after experiencing a bout of dizziness.
Camila Osorio Serrano upset Camila Giorgi in the semi-finals of the Tenerife Ladies’ Open. The 63rd-ranked Colombian beat Giorgi, the fourth seed, 6-4, 7-5 to book a meeting with Ann Li of the US, who earlier overpowered Alizé Cornet 6-2, 6-1.