Stuttgart Open: World number one Ashleigh Barty defeats Aryna Sabalenka in final

Ashleigh Barty is an Australian professional tennis player and former cricketer.

The 25-year-old Australian fought for the third time in a series of other matches in Germany to beat fifth-placed Sabalenka 3-6, 6-0 and 6-3.

It took Barty 23 minutes to win the second set and, although he suffered a 3-1 break in the third, it shouldn’t have been denied.

The title is only the second on clay after winning the 2019 French Open. Sabalenka, 22, made Barty work on the decisive set, although the Belarusian played with the straps on his right leg after needing medical time after the second set.

Barty’s triumph on clay in Germany follows the winning of the title on the hard courts of the Miami Open and the Yarra Valley Classic. “Be healthy, be well – you’ll be back soon,” Barty told Sabalenka at the end of what he called “an incredible week”.

Barty’s campaign in Stuttgart is not over yet, as he allies with the American Jennifer Brady, from the USA, in the doubles final against Desira Krawczyk and Bethanie Mattek-Sands, both from the USA.