Ashleigh Barty still on top but gap narrows ahead of Australian Open

Ashleigh Barty

Paris: Ashleigh Barty holds on to top spot in the WTA rankings released Monday but Karolina Pliskova has narrowed the gap heading into the Australian Open.

Dumped out of the Brisbane International in straight sets last week, Barty retains a comfortable cushion of 1,607 points over the Czech, who went on to win the Brisbane title for the third time in four years on Sunday.

Barty is aiming to become the first Australian to win her home Grand Slam since Christine O'Neil in 1978 and continues her preparations this week in Adelaide.

Naomi Osaka of Japan, beaten by Pliskova in a marathon semi-final at Brisbane, moves up one place to third at the expense of Simona Halep, who is also fine-tuning her Australian Open challenge in Adelaide.

Serena Williams, who ended a three-year title drought with victory in Sunday's Auckland Classic final, also moves up one place to ninth.

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