Barty hits out at critics

Ash Barty dismissed suggestions that she had unfairly held on to the top ranking while opting not to compete on the WTA Tour for most of 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

With the pandemic preventing many from competing on the tour since March 2020, the WTA tweaked the ranking system last year to ensure that players were not penalised for their no-shows.

The format allowed the Australian to stay on top of the world even though rivals such as Naomi Osaka won Grand Slam titles during Barty's absence.

"I never have to prove anything to anyone," Barty told reporters on Saturday after she retained her Miami Open title when Canada's Bianca Andreescu retired midway through the final due to an ankle injury.

"I know there has been a lot of talk about the ranking, but I didn't play at all last year and I didn't improve any of my points whatsoever. Yes, I didn't drop but I didn't improve any. I didn't play any at all.

"Everyone needs to understand that it's a pandemic. It's probably a once-in-a-lifetime thing for a lot of us to go through, so it's a bit of a difficult situation."