Naomi Osaka will be confirmed as the new world number one in the WTA rankings on Monday after clinching the Australian Open women's singles title.
The 21-year-old overcame Petra Kvitova in three sets in a thrilling final at the Rod Laver Arena to win her second straight Grand Slam title.
The Japanese memorably beat Serena Williams at the US Open last year but with an assertive performance against no. 8 seed Kvitova, she clinched top spot in the rankings, replacing Simona Halep, who had held the spot since February 2018.
At 21, Osaka is the youngest no. 1 in nearly a decade; Caroline Wozniacki was 20 when she first ascended to that spot in 2010. She is also the first woman since Jennifer Capriati in 2001 to win a Slam straight after her maiden title.
Osaka's rise to the top marks an extraordinary 18 months for the starlet. Only a year ago, she was ranked 72nd in the world and had never got past the fourth round of a Major until her shock victory at Flushing Meadows.
Now, she becomes the first-ever Japanese, man or woman, to top the world rankings in tennis and is the only player from her nation to have won the Australian Open title.
Kvitova's run to the final will have an effect too. The Czech will leapfrog a number of rivals, including Sloane Stephens and Karolina Pliskova, to equal her best-ever ranking in second place, with the former world number one Halep dropping to third.
