Australian star Ash Barty is just two wins away from becoming world number one after she defeated Venus Williams to reach the semi-finals of the Birmingham Classic. 

Ashleigh Barty is one match away from becoming the first Australian to be crowned women's world number one in 43 years after progressing to the final of the Nature Valley Classic.

Serena Williams (pictured), 37, snubbed Barty, 23, at her pre-Wimbledon press conference on Saturday. Barty rose to number one after winning Birmingham Classic and French Open.

As the top women's seed, Ashleigh Barty, the world No 1 and newly crowned French Open champion, has every right to feel there is a weight of expectation on her shoulders.

Barty, chasing back-to-back grand slams following her French Open success last month, beat the Belgian 6-1 6-3 to advance to the third round on Thursday.

Ash Barty took less than an hour to defeat Alison Van Uytvanck at Wimbledon on Thursday and addressed a snub from Serena Williams made earlier during a press conference.

When Queenslander Ash Barty won her first grand slam tennis title at the French Open in June she celebrated by going out for beer and steak. 

Ashleigh Barty is poised to crown her phenomenal season by becoming the first Australian woman to ever top the year-ending tennis rankings.

French Open champion Barty, who had been beaten twice by Kvitova in Australia earlier this year, fired nine aces and converted three of six break points to win the encounter.

Japan's Naomi Osaka fought back from a set down to beat Australian world number one Ash Barty 3-6 6-3 6-2 in the final of the China Open in Beijing on Sunday.

Ashleigh Barty's coach can pinpoint the moment when the Australian morphed from good to a great.

HENRY DEEDES: Yup. That's right. No lesser grand fromaggio than the President of the United States had picked up the blower to chew the cud about the state of Yew-kay politics.

A bullish Nigel Farage proclaimed it 'looks like we are still winning' after he watched his friend and ally Donald Trump deliver a divisive State of the Union speech in Washington.

The 19-year old son of pop legend Madonna and director Guy Ritchie stacked it as he left the London Edition hotel in Soho on Thursday night

Donald Trump and Kurt Suzuki's heartwarming moment at the White House has been compared to the famous image of Leonardo DiCaprio with his arms around Kate Winslet on the bow of the Titanic.

Atletico Madrid will need to overcome the absence of Diego Costa in the decisive Copa del Rey match against Sevilla on Tuesday. He suffered a muscle injury in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Girona.

The pair traded barbs during Costa's stand-off, in which he accused the club of treating him like a 'criminal', before he compelted his return to Atletico Madrid.

Diego Costa will be back to torment Arsene Wenger this week in Europe, three years after he last left his mark on the Arsenal manager in the Premier League.

Pepe, Diego Costa and the Video Assistant Referee, what can go wrong? This pair of unreformed cartoon villians met eight times in La Liga when the defender was at Real Madrid.

Russia defender Sergei Ignashevich says he is not bothered by potential provocation from World Cup opponents Sergio Ramos and Diego Costa because of the Video Assistant Referee system.

MARTIN SAMUEL AT THE LUZHNIKI STADIUM: Passed to death. That should be Spain’s epitaph at this World Cup. They tried to pass Russia into oblivion but only extinguished themselves.

Ousmane Dembele came off the bench to rescue a point for Barcelona in their highly-anticipated showdown with Atletico Madrid. Relive all the action with Sportsmail's MAX WINTERS here.

Diego Simeone's side would be guaranteed a place in the knockout stages of the competition with a victory against Monaco at the Wanda Metropolitano on Wednesday night.

Diego Costa has stepped up his rehabilitation from a foot injury, with Atletico Madrid hoping to have the striker fit for their Champions League last-16 clash against Juventus on February 20.

Sportsmail provide you with everything you need to know for the Champions League kast-16 first leg of Atletico Madrid vs Juventus including kick-off time, date and channel plus squads and odds.

Sergio Ramos attracts both controversy and admiration for his attitude and ability - yet one thing rarely acknowledged is his ability as a goal scorer. He has scored 16 times in all competitions this season.

PETE JENSON IN SPAIN: Atletico know it's unlikely but they have to cling to something. The horizon will look very dark for them otherwise - they would stand to lose around £88m from missed revenue

US special representative Stephen Biegun told reporters in Seoul that the US had heard the North's 'hostile, negative and unnecessary' demands but would not work to the arbitrary deadline.

Police made the discovery in the wooden boat's stem around 9:30 am (00:30 GMT) on Saturday on Sado island, which is off the coast of Japan's northwestern prefecture of Niigata

The guest list at her recent wedding was more A-list than an Oscars after-party, the Duchess of Sussex calls her a 'chic badass' and she is rumoured to have set up Harry and Meghan on their blind date

The pop star rivals donned drag queen-worthy jumpsuits onstage the Allstate Arena in Rosemont

Stormy Daniels' estranged husband Glendon Crain is working shifts as a dishwasher at Chili's Grill & Bar in Forney, Texas, DailyMail.com can reveal.

They married in a surprise, £5million wedding on Friday in the stunning surroundings of St Moritz, Switzerland.

'I went to a doctor's appointment yesterday and I had an ultrasound and she was moving around,' said the fiancee of actor Orlando Bloom. 'I have a video of her giving me the middle finger.'

The sacked North Queensland Cowboy faced Mackay Local Court on Tuesday charged with punching Adrian Currie, the brother of his girlfriend Ainslie, at a pub on February 22.

Police were called to the St George Illawarra Dragons centre's home south of Wollongong on Good Friday following reports from neighbours about 'loud noises' coming from the home.

The Gold Coast Titans backrower is waiting to hear whether he can play when the season restarts on May 28 after telling team officials he will refuse the compulsory influenza injection.

Kylie Jenner got intimate in a photo for her Kendall + Kylie clothing line. The cosmetics billionaire stretched, pulling her cropped sweater top up to reveal a bit of her beige bra.

The Kardashian family Christmas party is one of the most A-list events of the year... and 2019's soiree was full of surprises.

It is not easy getting all five of the Kardashian/Jenner sisters together in one room for a photo. But Kris Jenner managed to pull it off on Tuesday at her Christmas Eve party.

The 28-year-old athlete flew to the West Coast for the party, as he played Tuesday evening in Cleveland in a win over the Atlanta Hawks.

The 26-year-old singer previously dated the NBA player and was initially devastated to learn that he was dating the Keeping Up with the Kardashians star.

Kendall Jenner seemed so excited to get to Ben Simmons game against the Miami Heat, Monday night she missed a button on her sheer brown blouse.

Kendall Jenner took to Instagram to show her 122 million followers a glimpse at her self-care routine in her undies, as well as her new pet rabbit on Friday.

The reality star, 24, lit up New York City in a seriously hot pink outfit resembling something out of the disco era. Kendall flashed her fabulous abs as she made her way out for a night on the town.

Kendall Jenner named Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's daughter North as the most stylish of her nieces and nephews. The little girl has already shown an interest in haute couture.

Tinashe looked fierce with stick-on eye makeup at the Libertine show for NYFW. She recently revealed that she drank for six months after learning her ex Ben Simmons was dating Kendall Jenner.

The model flashed a hint of her toned torso while wearing a Matrix inspired black coat in the Big Apple. She wore her raven tresses slicked back, and gazed through a cool pair of small sunglasses.

Bella Hadid just wrapped her runway stint for New York Fashion Week on Wednesday. And Bella was spotted leaving her NYC apartment on Saturday evening en route to London Fashion Week.

Kendall Jenner showcased her enviable physique in a pair of sister Kim Kardashian's Skims on Sunday.