Ash Barty has been knocked out of the Tokyo Olympics singles in the first round, upset by unheralded Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo in straight sets. In the biggest shock of the Games so far, 48th-ranked Sorribes Tormo beat the world No 1 and newly crowned Wimbledon champion 6-4, 6-3.
It leaves Barty’s medal hopes resting on the doubles, in which she advanced to the second round with a first-up win with Storm Sanders on Saturday.
In the blistering Tokyo heat, Barty held serve but quickly found herself on the back foot with Sorribes Tormo breaking the Australian twice to open up a 4-1 lead. Barty managed a break of her own but Sorribes Tormo, who has never made it past the second round of a grand slam, closed out the set .
Barty then dropped the opening service game of the second set, briefly resettling with a par of breaks before dropping serve after holding a 40-0 lead. From there Sorribes Tormo held her nerve – and her serve – to close out the biggest win of her career.
