WTA WORLD NO.1 ON THE LINE FOR

PETRA KVITOVA AND NAOMI OSAKA

• Kvitova and Osaka will battle it out for the Australian Open title and WTA World No.1 ranking
• Winner will become the 26th player in history of the WTA to earn the top position

Petra Kvitova and Naomi Osaka will play for the Australian Open title and WTA World No.1 ranking on Saturday to become the 26th player in the history of the WTA to earn the top position.

At the start of the Australian Open there were 11 women with a chance of leaving the tournament as the No.1 player in the world. Kvitova or Osaka will rise to the top of the WTA rankings for the first time in their careers, replacing Simona Halep who held the No.1 spot for 64 weeks, including the last 48 consecutive weeks.

“This time last year I wouldn’t have dreamed of being in this position,” said Osaka in the latest WTA Insider Podcast. “Honestly, the first thing I’m trying to do is be grateful to be here. I know that we’re both fighting for the No.1 ranking too, everyone is talking about it.”

“I think tomorrow the better one will win,” said Kvitova who is aiming to be the second Czech woman to reach the top ranking, while Osaka is bidding to become the first Japanese player – man or woman – to achieve this milestone.

Click here to listen to both finalists in the latest WTA Insider Podcast and here for Martina Navratilova’s exclusive column previewing the 2019 Australian Open final.