Ashleigh Barty’s sudden retirement has rocked the tennis world and it now means the women’s tour will have a new world number one. 

Barty had held the honour of top spot for the past three seasons and is seventh on the all-time list of most weeks at number one, having held the ranking for 119 weeks in total. 

The 25-year-old had also been the most in-form player of 2022 so far, having secured her third Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. 

Her retirement means that Poland’s Iga Swiatek will assume the number one spot for now but how likely is she to stay there? 

GiveMeSport Women assesses the main contenders to finish the year as the best player on the planet: 

The favourite - Iga Swiatek

Though Barty was more than 2000 points ahead of Swiatek when she retired, the Pole has also been in superb form so far this year. 

In fact, the 20-year-old is on a run of 11 straight wins and has claimed back-to-back titles at the Qatar Open and at Indian Wells. 

The clay-court season is also fast approaching and Swiatek is renowned as a specialist on that particular surface. 

In 2020, she stormed to her first Grand Slam title without dropping a set at the French Open and reached the quarter-final last year. 

Having also reached at least the fourth round of every major in 2021, the Pole is undeniably the favourite to solidify the top spot in the rankings. 

The realistic contenders - Anett Kontaveit and Barbora Krejcikova 

Kontaveit is ranked seventh in the world at the moment but the Estonian has multiple opportunities to pick up a lot of ranking points without dropping many between now and the end of the year. 

The 26-year-old was unstoppable at the end of 2021 –– winning back-to-back titles at the Transylvania Open and the Kremlin Cup. She also reached the final of the WTA finals, before losing to Garbine Muguruza. 

Similarly, Krejcikova was one of the most consistent players on tour in 2021 and claimed her first major title at the French Open. 

Though she’ll be forced to defend 2000 points at Roland Garros this year, there is every chance of her going deep in the competition again. 

The Czech star is another player who is competent on all surfaces and it is likely that Krejcikova could mount a serious challenge at all of the remaining Grand Slams this season. 

The dark-horses - Aryna Sabalenka and Emma Raducanu

Sabalenka has been hovering around the top 10 in the world since 2018 and was ranked as high as second in the rankings at the start of this year. 

Admittedly, the Belarusian has struggled to find her best tennis so far this season and is particularly struggling with her serve. 

Yet, the 23-year-old still managed to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open and the quarter-finals in Qatar. 

Sabalenka also remains in search of her first Grand Slam title and reached the semi-finals at both Wimbledon and the US Open. 

Perhaps this year will finally be her time and if she does win a Slam, then expect her to be well in contention for that number one spot. 

As for Raducanu, right now it seems a huge longshot to suggest she’ll be anywhere near the top of the rankings. 

However, the Brit does have the benefit of still being in her first full year on tour –– meaning she won’t drop any ranking points until Wimbledon at the earliest. 

This gives the 19-year-old multiple opportunities to boost her ranking and given she is already ranked 13th  –– it may only take a few wins for her to climb into the top 10. 

While it is likely she’ll drop at least some points at the US Open, the Brit has shown how much she loves playing at Flushing Meadows, and who knows, perhaps she’ll shock the tennis world once again.