Ashleigh Barty‘s singles journey at Wimbledon has come to a screeching halt.
The World No. 1 player and Fila athlete was knocked out in a fourth-round match against unseeded American Alison Riske, ending an impressive 15-match winning streak. She fell 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 on Manic Monday, when the 32 remaining players compete for a place in the quarterfinals.
It marked a major upset for Barty, who won her first Grand Slam title at the French Open in June and delivered a blow to Nike star Naomi Osaka upon snatching the top spot in the women’s world rankings. Riske, on the other hand, is ranked 55th in the world, whose best showing in the past was reaching the third round at Wimbledon and the fourth round at the 2013 US Open.
“I haven’t been starting out fantastic in all my matches,” Riske said. “I had to play aggressive. I had to take it to Ash.”
In an interview with FN early this season, the 23-year-old called the Miami Open, which she won in March, a fantastic tournament. (The Australian tennis star took a hiatus from the sport to play cricket when she was 18 and made her return in early 2016.)
“It’s my desire to keep working hard to achieve my goals,” said Barty, whose on-court style can be described as comfortable. “Right now I wear Fila’s Axilus 2 Energized, which I am very happy with. This part of the year is always tough as I am away from home for a long time, but I enjoy playing on different surfaces and always love being back in the U.K. for the grass season.”
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