Pliskova is No. 1 after Halep loss
Print Edition
CZECH Karolina Pliskova rose to the top of the WTA rankings without striking a ball on Tuesday as results at Wimbledon saw her overhaul German Angelique Kerber.
By a quirk of the points-based ranking system the 25-year-old rose to the top — the 23rd player to do so — thanks to Simona Halep’s quarterfinal loss to Johanna Konta. Romanian Halep would have become world No. 1 had she beaten the Briton but went down 7-6 (2), 6-7 (5), 4-6.
Bizarrely Pliskova, seeded three at Wimbledon, lost in the second round to Magdalena Rybarikova but her consistent results this year, including reaching the French Open semifinals, means she will be No. 1 when the rankings are updated on Monday.
“Although right now I am not celebrating a victory on the court, I have become the world No. 1. And this really means a lot to me,” Pliskova wrote in a post on Instagram.
Despite never having won a grand slam tournament, the Monte Carlo-based player becomes the first Czech to be No. 1 since the rankings were introduced in 1975. Czech-born Martina Navratilova, who won 18 singles majors, became No. 1 in 1978 but was representing the US by then.
Pliskova has won three titles this year, in Brisbane, Doha and at Eastbourne.
Kerber, who spent a total of 34 weeks as world No. 1, needed to reach the Wimbledon final to have a chance of hanging on to the top spot, but was beaten by Spain’s Garbine Muguruza in the last 16.
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