Ashleigh Barty will become the first Australian in 43 years to climb to the top of the WTA singles ranking after she won the Birmingham Classic grasscourt title on Sunday.

The 23-year-old beat Germany's Julia Goerges 6-3, 7-5 in the final, meaning when the new WTA rankings are released on Monday she will knock Japan's Naomi Osaka off the summit.

French Open champion Barty gave up tennis in late 2014 and played Big Bash cricket for Brisbane Heat before returning to the sport in 2016.

The last Australian woman to reach the number one ranking was Evonne Goolagong in 1976 although it only came to light 31 years later after the discovery of an error in the records.

Ashleigh Barty will become the first Australian in 43 years to climb to the top of the WTA singles ranking after she won the Birmingham Classic grasscourt title on Sunday.

Ashleigh Barty will become the first Australian in 43 years to climb to the top of the WTA singles ranking after she won the Birmingham Classic grasscourt title on Sunday. The 23-year-old beat Germany's Julia Goerges 6-3, 7-5 in the final, meaning when the new WTA rankings are released on Monday she will knock Japan's Naomi Osaka off the summit. French Open champion Barty gave up tennis in late 2014 and played Big Bash cricket for Brisbane Heat before returning to the sport in 2016. The last Australian woman to reach the number one ranking was Evonne Goolagong in 1976 although it only came to light 31 years later after the discovery of an error in the records.

Australian Ashleigh Barty guarantees rise to world number one

Defending champion Julia Goerges suffered a bruising defeat to Anett Kontaveit at the WTA Elite Trophy in China on Wednesday.&nbsp;

The fifth seed took a nasty tumble mid-way through the match, which she went on to lose 2-6, 6-4, 4-6 after more than two hours.&nbsp;

Kontaveit, the tournament tenth seed, started brightly, breaking the world no. 14 three times to take the opening set.

Goerges, 29, fell heavily on to the hard court in the sixth game of the second set, and needed to ice her right leg during the changeover.

Clearly slightly rattled, the German nevertheless dug deep to claim the set, pumping her fist and gesturing to her coach as she celebrated.

However, it was the 22-year-old Estonian Kontaveit who won the decider at the Hengqin International Tennis Center.

World no. 20 Kontaveit has now played both her round robin matches, after losing on Tuesday to Belgium's Elise Mertens, who will play Goerges later in the tournament.

Now in its fourth year the Elite Trophy features 12 players ranked roughly from nine to 20. This year's total prize money is $2.35 million across the singles and doubles tournaments.

Defending champion Julia Goerges suffered a bruising defeat to Anett Kontaveit at the WTA Elite Trophy in China on Wednesday. The fifth seed took a nasty tumble mid-way through the match, which she went on to lose 2-6, 6-4, 4-6 after more than two hours.

Defending champion Julia Goerges suffered a bruising defeat to Anett Kontaveit at the WTA Elite Trophy in China on Wednesday. The fifth seed took a nasty tumble mid-way through the match, which she went on to lose 2-6, 6-4, 4-6 after more than two hours. Kontaveit, the tournament tenth seed, started brightly, breaking the world no. 14 three times to take the opening set. Goerges, 29, fell heavily on to the hard court in the sixth game of the second set, and needed to ice her right leg during the changeover. Clearly slightly rattled, the German nevertheless dug deep to claim the set, pumping her fist and gesturing to her coach as she celebrated. However, it was the 22-year-old Estonian Kontaveit who won the decider at the Hengqin International Tennis Center. World no. 20 Kontaveit has now played both her round robin matches, after losing on Tuesday to Belgium's Elise Mertens, who will play Goerges later in the tournament. Now in its fourth year the Elite Trophy features 12 players ranked roughly from nine to 20. This year's total prize money is $2.35 million across the singles and doubles tournaments.

Kontaveit downs defending champion Julia Goerges in Zhuhai

Karolina Pliskova and Petra Kvitova won their opening singles matches to give Czech Republic a commanding 2-0 lead in their Fed Cup semi-final against Germany in Stuttgart on Saturday.

Kvitova powered past German number one Julia Goerges 6-3 6-2 before Pliskova produced a sublime display to record a 7-5 6-3 victory over Angelique Kerber.

Pliskova, who had lost in her previous three encounters with Kerber, fired 15 aces and faced no break points as she subdued the home fans in Stuttgart."No one expected it," Pliskova said after the German failed to win a set on day one.

Kvitova recorded her 29th Fed Cup victory on the back of a strong serve and a string of blistering groundstrokes.

World number 11 Goerges was stronger in the opening exchanges and raced to a 3-1 lead in the first set before Kvitova rediscovered her rhythm to level things up.

The 28-year-old Czech claimed nine of the last 11 games and dropped just two points on her serve to seal the victory on the stroke of an hour.

The 10-time champion Czechs are looking to reach the Fed Cup final after a one-year absence. The last time Germany won the Fed Cup title was in 1992 in Frankfurt.

Kvitova powered past German number one Julia Goerges

Karolina Pliskova and Petra Kvitova won their opening singles matches to give Czech Republic a commanding 2-0 lead in their Fed Cup semi-final against Germany in Stuttgart on Saturday. Kvitova powered past German number one Julia Goerges 6-3 6-2 before Pliskova produced a sublime display to record a 7-5 6-3 victory over Angelique Kerber. Pliskova, who had lost in her previous three encounters with Kerber, fired 15 aces and faced no break points as she subdued the home fans in Stuttgart."No one expected it," Pliskova said after the German failed to win a set on day one. Kvitova recorded her 29th Fed Cup victory on the back of a strong serve and a string of blistering groundstrokes. World number 11 Goerges was stronger in the opening exchanges and raced to a 3-1 lead in the first set before Kvitova rediscovered her rhythm to level things up. The 28-year-old Czech claimed nine of the last 11 games and dropped just two points on her serve to seal the victory on the stroke of an hour. The 10-time champion Czechs are looking to reach the Fed Cup final after a one-year absence. The last time Germany won the Fed Cup title was in 1992 in Frankfurt.

Pliskova and Kvitova give Czechs commanding lead over Germany

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Australian Ashleigh Barty guarantees rise to world number one

Kontaveit downs defending champion Julia Goerges in Zhuhai

Pliskova and Kvitova give Czechs commanding lead over Germany