Former doubles icon Pam Shriver believes Ashleigh Barty will lose her number one ranking spot to Spain’s Garbine Muguruza this year.
Barty enjoyed a remarkable 2021 –– winning five WTA titles, including her second Grand Slam at Wimbledon.
Despite cutting short her season after the US Open, the Australian finished 2021 ranked first in the world for a third successive year.
The 25-year-old is just the fifth player to achieve such a feat, following in the footsteps of tennis legends Steffi Graf, Serena Williams, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert.
But Shriver thinks it will be difficult for the two-time major winner to continue her dominance at the top and expects someone else from the top five to make a move.
The 21-time Grand Slam doubles champion cited Aryna Sabalenka as a future world number one in waiting, as well as last year’s Indian Wells champion Muguruza.
“Actually, I think there will be a new [World] number one,” she told the WTA. I’m not exactly sure who, but I think Ash [Barty] has had a great run and I think it could be somebody in the top five.
“I’m looking at the points, and I think the most likely one is Garbiñe Muguruza. It could be Aryna Sabalenka if she buries those demons. It wasn’t just what Garbine showed at Guadalajara [at the WTA Finals], but she and [coach] Conchita [Martinez] have developed a solid partnership.
“I feel she’s underachieved in the last couple of years, but I think the second half of 2021 she started to show more of the promise that took her to a French [Open] and a Wimbledon title. I’m looking at Ash’s lead and it’s not insignificant.”
Like Barty, Muguruza has won two major titles –– the last of which came at Wimbledon in 2017.
But after an impressive end to the 2021 season, the Spaniard is one of the favourites for the upcoming Australian Open.
However, the 28-year-old withdrew from the opening tournament of the season at the Adelaide International this week and is yet to reveal her reasons for doing so.
Meanwhile, Barty is taking part in the event and is likely to meet teenage star Coco Gauff in the second round.
The Australian is expected to win the tournament but faces strong competition from the likes of Sabalenka, Maria Sakkari and Paula Badosa.