Olympics 2021: Ashleigh Barty vs Sara Sorribes Tormo preview, head-to-head & prediction
Match details
Fixture: (1) Ashleigh Barty [AUS] vs Sara Sorribes Tormo [ESP]
Date: 25 July 2021
Tournament: Olympics 2021
Round: First round (Round of 64)
Venue: Ariake Tennis Park, Tokyo, Japan
Category: Olympic Games
Surface: Outdoor hard
Live telecast: USA - NBC & Peacock TV | UK - BBC TV | India - Sony Liv
Ashleigh Barty vs Sara Sorribes Tormo preview
Fresh from winning the Wimbledon Championships earlier this month, World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty will launch her bid for a coveted Olympic singles gold against Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo on Sunday.
With four titles under her belt this season, the Australian has underlined her dominance of the women's tour. The 25-year-old returned to action at the start of the season after a one-year hiatus and hit the ground running.
She went on to triumph at the Yarra Valley Classic, Miami and the Porsche Grand Prix, before claiming the biggest title of her career at Wimbledon.
Barty will now aim to carry that form into the Olympics as she strives to bring Australia its first-ever women's singles gold in tennis.
Spain's World No. 48 Sara Sorribes Tormo is currently enjoying the best season of her career. The 24-year-old won her maiden title at Guadalajara earlier this year, in addition to making the quarterfinals at Miami and the semifinals at Monterrey and Bad Homburg.
Sorribes Tormo will be hoping to make the most of the slow conditions in Tokyo and pull off a big upset in the first round.
Checkout: Tokyo Olympic 2021 Schedule
Ashleigh Barty vs Sara Sorribes Tormo head-to-head
Ashleigh Barty and Sara Sorribes Tormo have never crossed paths on the tour before so their head-to-head currently stands at a 0-0 deadlock.
Ashleigh Barty vs Sara Sorribes Tormo prediction
Just a few weeks after thriving on the fast grasscourts at Wimbledon, Ashleigh Barty needs to quickly adjust to the slow and humid conditions in Tokyo. That could be a bit of a challenge for the World No. 1.
Barty often makes slow starts and Sorribes Tormo, who loves playing on slower surfaces, could pose plenty of problems for the Australian. Sorribes Tormo has a neat backhand slice which she uses to disrupt her opponent's rhythm. The Spaniard's strong defense will also come in handy against Barty.
But Sorribes Tormo's serve isn't the most reliable and could easily be attacked by a player of Barty's caliber. Once the Australian finds her range and starts hitting her spots, she will be hard to stop.
Prediction: Ashleigh Barty to win in two tight sets.
Checkout: Tokyo Olympics Tennis Schedule