Aryna Sabalenka has been top of the WTA Rankings since the start of the year – and her run at the Wuhan Open means she will remain there for a full calendar year as she has secured the year-end No 1 ranking.
The 27-year-old replaced Iga Swiatek at the top of the rankings on October 21, 2024 and – after holding off her big rival for the year-end No 1 title last year – the Belarusian has been in a class of her own this season.
So far this year, Sabalenka has successfully defended her US Open title, has won the most titles – including WTA 1000 titles at Indian Wells and Madrid – and also reached the most finals (eight).
In July, she became only the second player to reach 12,000 ranking points as she peaked with 12,420 points after Wimbledon with only the great Serena Williams (13,615 in July 2013) ahead of her since the current points system was adopted by the WTA Tour 2009.
But Swiatek’s titles at Wimbledon, the Cincinnati Open and most recently the Korea Open meant she was back in the hunt for the coveted year-end No 1 ranking, although she had a mountain to climb.
And that mountain proved to be too big as her defeat in the Jamsine Paolini in the quarter-final in Wuhan, coupled with Sabalenka’s run to the semi-final has seen the latter unofficially secure the year-end No 1 title.
Sabalenka sits on 10,400 points in the Live WTA Rankings with Swiatek on 8,768 points after their latest matches, but the official rankings use a 52-week rolling, cumulative system and still have to drop points from the 2024 WTA Finals.
Instead, the WTA Rankings Race To Riyadh only takes into account points accumulated during the current year and Sabalenka has 10,000 points in the Live Race with Swiatek on 8,368 – giving the four-time Grand Slam winner a 1,632-point buffer over the Pole.
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As things stand, Sabalenka and Swiatek won’t feature again in regular WTA Tour action this year after Wuhan, with the season-ending WTA Finals, which will be staged in Saudi Arabia from November 1-8, their final event of the 2025 season.
The year-end No 1 ranking has been decided at the WTA Finals the past two years with Swiatek winning the 2023 title after lifting the title, while Sabalenka held off the Pole in 2024 with a run to the semi-final.
But the No 1 year-end title won’t be on the line at the 2025 edition as the maximum points a player can win at the WTA Finals is 1,500 – and then they have to win the tournament undefeated.
So even if Swiatek earns 1,500 points, she will still be 132 points behind her rival.
Of course, there won’t be any official confirmation about Sabalenka’s back-to-back year-end No 1 titles just yet as Swiatek could still decide to enter one of the remaining regular events, but as things stand, Sabalenka has secured the crown for 2025.
There is also still the small matter of both Sabalenka and Swiatek not playing the required number of WTA 500 tournaments in 2025 and are set to face a points deduction, but the Belarusian’s lead should see her stay ahead of the six-time Grand Slam winner when all is said and done.
The post WTA Rankings: How Swiatek’s Wuhan loss affects year-end No 1 battle with Sabalenka appeared first on Tennis365.
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