Halep’s exit pushes Pliskova to world number one in place of Kerber
Simona Halep’s defeat to Johanna Konta at Wimbledon has confirmed Karolina Pliskova’s status as the new world number one amid a power vacuum at the top of women’s tennis.
The absence of the pregnant Serena Williams from the WTA Tour has left a clutch of evenly matched players vying for honours, with the unheralded Jelena Ostapenko capturing an unexpected French Open crown at Roland Garros last month.
The Latvian was duly eliminated from Wimbledon by 37-year-old Venus Williams in the quarter-finals on Tuesday, a result followed swiftly by Konta’s victory over Romanian Halep, who is another player with designs on top spot.
Ironically, that result sees Pliskova displace Germany’s Angelique Kerber despite the Czech falling in the second round at the All England Club to a resurgent Magdalena Rybarikova.
Kerber is also out of contention in SW19, having lost to Garbine Muguruza in the fourth round on Monday.
23rd player in #WTA history to reach World No.1!@KaPliskova! pic.twitter.com/KV0xAPMmsP
— WTA (@WTA) July 11, 2017
She may have failed to go deep at Wimbledon, but Pliskova has been in good form during the past 12 months.
The Aegon International in Eastbourne, secured with a victory over Caroline Wozniacki in the final earlier this month, was her most recent title.
