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.

A photo has emerged showing Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wearing blackface to a party 18 years ago when he was a private school teacher. 

Roger Husband spoke to Global News to defend Trudeau's costume but say it 'stood out' against those of the students he was teaching at West Point Grey Academy.

New Forest West MP Sir Desmond Swayne (pictured) said in a blog post that he wouldn't do it again - but only because of the 'trouble' of getting clean again.'

Trudeau works as a communications professor at the college in Denton, Texas, and has done since 2005. He was investigated in 2018

Canada's finance minister says its government has not yet decided if it will cover the $1.7 million it will cost to provide security for Harry and Meghan after the couple decided to move to North America.

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump announced that he and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agreed to shut down their border.

The God's Plan rapper updated fans while Instagram Live-ing with his dad Dennis Graham on Friday.  Drake is one of the many asymptomatic celebrities who have been able to acquire the tests.

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage insisted 'No Deal is the best deal' and told the Boris Johnson it would be a 'historic mistake' to rehash Mrs May's Withdrawal Agreement - minus the backstop.

Members of the European Research Group are reported to have held 'very tentative' discussions with the Brexit Party leader over the possibility of a pact saying it 'would be mad' not to pursue one.

The Brexit Party chief's offer comes amid growing pressure from Tory MPs for the Prime Minister to draw up a pact with the Eurosceptic hardliners if there is an Election before Britain leaves the EU.

The overwhelming majority of Tory voters and Brexit Party supporters want Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage to agree an electoral pact before the next general election, according to a new poll.

Sajid Javid has failed to rule out a Tory pact with Nigel Farage's Brexit Party at the next election. The Chancellor said the Conservative Party did not need electoral alliances to win.

The eurosceptic said that his upstart party would not oppose members of the hardline European Research Group and any sitting MP who 'pledges to never vote for the new EU treaty'.

Hardline Brexiteer Nigel Farage wants to go after Labour seats where UKIP has previously had some success, such as in the Midlands and North East.

Nigel Farage claimed he wanted to 'fight a general election' alongside the Tories. The Brexit Party leader has been in the north east of England today on a conference tour.

Labour Brexiteers are much more likely to switch to Nigel Farage than the Conservatives, a study has found.Boris Johnson is hoping his robust stance on Brexit will help him snatch seats from Labour.

Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg warned: 'If you vote for the Brexit Party at the next election it is a vote effectively for Jeremy Corbyn.'

Mr Braine, who only replaced hardliner Gerard Batten in the summer, entered a public row with the party's ruling national executive committee after he called for the Newport event to be cancelled.

Nigel Farage renewed his appeal for the PM to join forces - but insisted it could only happen if the Tories committed to a 'clean break' from the EU.

STEPHEN GLOVER: A few months ago, the Brexit Party was the talk of Westminster. It had won the most seats in May's European elections. But its fortunes have declined since Boris became PM.

In an email to supporters yesterday, the leader said the party would have 'a big challenge on our hands to clear out the Remainer Parliament and win a majority for Brexit'.

An audit by the Daily Mail found Boris Johnson could miss out in almost 90 battleground constituencies if the pro-Brexit vote is split between the Tories and the Brexit Party.

Conservative Party chairman James Cleverly has immediately rejected a fresh appeal from Nigel Farage to form a general election Leave Alliance.

Arron Banks, who campaigned with Mr Farage as part of Leave.EU during the 2016 referendum, said that the Brexit Party leader was risking the entire project by splitting the Tory vote.

At a glitzy election launch in Westminster, Nigel Farage vowed to take on the 'two tribes' of the Conservatives and Labour who had forgotten what they promisd in the 2016 referendum.

Boris Johnson faces a double threat to his election hopes after new polls show a Labour bounce while the Lib Dems, Plaid Cymru and the Greens are forming a pact to thwart him.

Property developer Jeffrey Hobby, who donated £10,000 to Mr Farage's party ahead of the European Parliament elections in May, said he believed Mr Johnson was doing a 'fantastic job'.

It surged four per cent in a new YouGov survey of voting intentions. Boris Johnson's Tories were down one per cent at 38 per cent, while Labour had lost two per cent in falling to just 25 per cent.

Brexit Party chairman Richard Tice today announced he will contest the 2019 general election as he revealed he will stand in the pro-Leave seat of Hartlepool.

Nigel Farage will today formally launch the Brexit Party's general election campaign after another of his candidates decided to step down to avoid splitting the Leave vote.

Dr Graham Cushway, the candidate for Brighton Kemptown, has faced calls to quit after he was revealed as the bassist of a band who dress up as 'undead Luftwaffe pilots'.

Brexit Party candidates have been deluged with thousands of emails from Daily Mail readers urging them to stand down.

A furious Brexit Party MEP has revealed she will not vote at the general election after Nigel Farage decided to stand aside in 317 seats on December 12 to give the Tories a clear run.

The Hard Left outfit, which is believed to have less than 1,000 members nationwide, urged them to back the opposition leader, saying a Labour government would 'end austerity and privatisation'.

From Stockton to Workington, these are the 29 Labour Leave-voting constituencies with the smallest majorities which Boris Johnson will look to win this Christmas.

Sir John Curtice, a professor at Strathclyde University, said the election is a 'binary choice' between Boris Johnson and his Brexit deal or a second referendum under Jeremy Corbyn.

It came after police revealed they were assessing two allegations of electoral fraud after claims the Tories offered peerages in return for standing down.

Mr Farage stood down candidates contesting Tory-held constituencies but continues to take the battle to Jeremy Corbyn ahead of the December 12 general election.

The campaigners said the entire fee, which will increase by £50,000 each day, would be donated to the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants as a further swipe at the right-wing leader.

HENRY DEEDES: Nigel Farage loves a pint of Greene King India Pale Ale but his Brexit Party has reached the point of last orders. All signs suggest humiliation for Farage's party.

The pro-Brexit vote was split in seats such as Doncaster North, where former Labour leader Ed Miliband limped home with 38.7 per cent of the vote. Pictured: Nigel Farage on TV last night.

DANIEL HANNAN: What a difference an election victory makes. Suddenly, everyone is rushing to be Boris's friend. Those Conservatives who spent years fulminating against him are now praising him.