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Garbine Muguruza can retake No. 1 ranking in Brisbane

By Harry Floyd

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 30: Garbine Muguruza of Spain plays a shot during a practice session at the 2018 Brisbane International at Pat Rafter Arena on December 30, 2017 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 30: Garbine Muguruza of Spain plays a shot during a practice session at the 2018 Brisbane International at Pat Rafter Arena on December 30, 2017 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images) /
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Garbine Muguruza is the top seed this week at the Brisbane International. With a strong run, she has the potential to retake the world No. 1 ranking.

Garbine Muguruza can retake the top ranking in tennis during play in Brisbane.

The top seed this week needs to reach the finals if she hopes to overtake Simona Halep for the world No. 1 position. Halep is in action at the Shenzhen Open and can potentially fend off the Spanish tennis star if she makes a deep run at the tournament.

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Muguruza may need to win the title at the Brisbane International if Halep goes far enough at the Shenzhen Open. It is clear, however, that the battle for No. 1 is going to continue over the next several weeks.

Garbine Muguruza first reached the No. 1 ranking in September of 2017.

Winning her first title at Wimbledon, Muguruza reached career heights in late 2017. She is undoubtedly one of the best players in women’s singles tennis right now. A strong start to the 2018 WTA Tour could set her up to be the top player in the sport yet again.

Look for Halep to also open strong at the Shenzhen Open. As she enters the year in the world No. 1 position, the Romanian will be aiming to retain her ranking and make a run at the upcoming Australian Open. Halep remains in search of her first ever Grand Slam singles title. She is a junior Grand Slam champion, however, and appears poised to add a major tournament title to her resume sooner rather than later. She reached the finals at the 2017 French Open where she ultimately fell to Jelena Ostapenko. It was her second time reaching the finals.

Next: Top 10: Men's Singles Tennis

Garbine Muguruza reached the semifinals in Brisbane last year. As she has an opening round bye with the top seeding, she will face either Carina Witthoeft or Aleksandra Krunic first. Muguruza ought to be considered a heavy favorite in her opening match and throughout all of her play in Brisbane. Also is action is Karolina Pliskova, Kristina Mladenovic, and Elina Svitolina among others. It is a star studded field at the 2018 Brisbane International. All players are looking to utilize the warmup tournament as a way to gather momentum heading into Melbourne Park. The Australian Open is just two weeks away and every match is critical until then. Stay tuned to see how Muguruza and others fare this week at the Brisbane International. Check back for updates on all of the action surrounding the battle for the world No. 1 ranking in women’s singles tennis.

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