Ashleigh Barty to face Karolina Pliskova in 2021 Wimbledon women’s singles final
July 9, 2021
Ashleigh Barty (Rob Keating, Wikimedia Commons)
Ashleigh Barty of Ipswich, Australia is in her second grand slam singles final. On Thursday, she defeated three-time grand slam champion, and the 25th seed, Angelique Kerber of Germany, 6-3, 7-6. Barty will now face 2016 United States Open finalist Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic in the women’s singles final on Saturday. Pliskova defeated the number two seed, Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.
Barty, who won the 2019 French Open final, will now be facing a Czech player for a second time in a grand slam final. Two years ago, she defeated Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-3 at Roland Garros. In Thursday’s win over Kerber, the ace statistic was a major reason for Barty’s victory. Barty had eight aces, while Kerber had zero.
The fact that Barty beat a three-time grand slam champion, should give her a lot of confidence heading into her first Wimbledon final. Kerber previously won the 2016 Australian Open, 2016 United States Open, and 2018 Wimbledon titles.
Pliskova meanwhile is in her second grand slam final, and first with Sascha Bajin as her coach. She previously reached the 2016 United States Open final, where she lost to Kerber, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. Pliskova is the first women’s player to win a semifinal after losing the first set since Vera Zvonareva of Russia in 2010. Zvonareva lost the first set 6-3 to Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria, before winning 6-3, 6-2.
Head-t0-head, Barty has the 5-2 advantage over Pliskova. Barty’s wins came in the semifinals of the 2012 Nottingham Challenge, the quarterfinals of the 2017 Wuhan Open, the final of the 2019 Miami Open, the semifinals of the 2019 WTA Finals in Shenzhen, and the quarterfinals of the 2021 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. Pliskova’s wins came in the quarterfinals of the 2016 Nottingham Open, and the fourth round of the 2018 U.S. Open.
 Fill In The Form Below To Receive Our Tennis News Straight To Your Email For FREE!
February 2, 2026
'Do we need that?': Pegula already argued against AO chief's five-set overhaul plan
On the heels of Australian Open boss Craig Tilley suggesting they want to bring in best-of-five sets for the women at the grand slam's 2027 edition, a damning takedown of the idea from Jessica Pegula Read MoreFebruary 2, 2026
Alcaraz's Melbourne triumph an historic ticket into very exclusive tennis club
Melbourne will mean so much more than just another slam victory to Carlos Alcaraz, mainly because his 2026 Australian Open championship means he has now become the youngest male player to claim a Read MoreFebruary 1, 2026
'Always believed': Rybakina sheds 'one-hit wonder' moniker in sweet silence
The rest of the tennis world may have begun writing her off as a one-hit wonder, but now two-time major champion Elena Rybakina "always believed" she was going to return to the top pedestal in the Read More
Tell Us What You Think Below