Ashleigh Barty Wins Wimbledon Women's Singles Final Against Karolina Pliskova

Maria Pasquini
·2 min read
1
Ashleigh Barty of Australia is presented with the Venus Rosewater Dish trophy by HRH Catherine, The Duchess of Cambridge after winning her Ladies' Singles Final match against Karolina Pliskova of The Czech Republic at Wimbledon Championships Tennis Tournament at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 10, 2021 in London, England.
Ashleigh Barty of Australia is presented with the Venus Rosewater Dish trophy by HRH Catherine, The Duchess of Cambridge after winning her Ladies' Singles Final match against Karolina Pliskova of The Czech Republic at Wimbledon Championships Tennis Tournament at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 10, 2021 in London, England.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Karwai Tang/WireImage Ashleigh Barty

It's a first for Ashleigh Barty!

Barty, 25, won the 2021 Wimbledon women's singles championship, defeating Pliskova 6-3, 6-7, 6-3. This is her second Grand Slam title.

Their match was the first women's singles final to go to a third set since 2012.

Going into the match, Barty was ranked first in the world — and came into Wimbledon as the top seed — while Pliskova, the No. 8 seed, trailed her at 13th. Prior to Saturday's match, neither athlete had ever made it to the Wimbledon singles finals.

Barty, who made it to the Wimbledon finals for doubles in 2013, ultimately losing the match, picked up her first Grand Slam singles win in 2019 at the French Open. Meanwhile, Pliskova's previous best Grand Slam final came in 2016, when she made it to the U.S. Open finals, ultimately losing to Angelique Kerber.

Although the 2020 Wimbledon Championships were canceled, the previous year both Barty and Karolina Pliskova made it to the round of 16 before exiting the competition.

RELATED: Celebrities at Wimbledon in 2021

Barty cleared her final obstacle before the finals on Thursday, when she beat 2018 champion Kerber in straight sets.

Just over a month earlier, the Australian athlete withdrew from the French Open after a hip injury flared up.

"To be honest, it was going to be touch-and-go. Everything had to be spot on to give myself a chance to play pain-free and to play knowing that I could trust my body," Barty said ahead of her first trip to the finals, according to the Associated Press. "If you told me a month ago we'd be sitting in this position, I really wouldn't have thought that we would even get close."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

For her final victory before the finals, Pliskova defeated No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka, coming back to win the final two sets after dropping the first.

"It was just super important to stay in the game, stay focused," she said after the game, according to the AP. "That's what I did."