WTA Rankings: How many points are Sabalenka, Swiatek, Gauff, Anisimova, Keys defending in January?

The 2026 season is just around the corner and it means the scramble for WTA Rankings points and positions will resume with several players facing uphill battles in the first month of the new campaign.

Aryna Sabalenka finished 2025 as the year-end No 1 in the rankings with Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, Jasmine Paolini, Mirra Andreeva and Ekaterina Alexandrova completing the top 10.

Four-time Grand Slam winner Sabalenka has a 2,475-point lead over Swiatek, who in turn is 1,632 points ahead of Gauff so the top two should be safe until after the Australian Open, but there are unlikely to be several changes in the first few weeks of the new year.

Year-End WTA Rankings Top 10

1. Aryna Sabalenka – 10,870
2. Iga Swiatek – 8,395
3. Coco Gauff – 6,763
4. Amanda Anisimova – 6,287
5. Elena Rybakina – 5,850
6. Jessica Pegula – 5,583
7. Madison Keys – 4,335
8. Jasmine Paolini – 4,325
9. Mirra Andreeva – 4,319
10. Ekaterina Alexandrov – 3,375

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The top players will start their 2026 campaigns in the first week of January at either the United Cup or the Brisbane International and some have more points to defend than others from the outset.

A few have also signed up for the Adelaide International the week before the season-opening Grand Slam before they all head to Melbourne for the Australian Open.

WTA Ranking Points Being Defended In January

Sabalenka – 1,800

The world No 1 is one of those players who are under pressure as she won the Brisbane International in 2025 and she will defend 500 points while she finished runner-up to Keys at the Australian Open (1,300 points).

Sabalenka has once again signed up for those two events in 2026 so while she will drop 1,800 points, she could earn 2,500 back by winning both tournaments.

Swiatek – 1,105

The reigning Wimbledon champion featured at the United Cup and Australian Open at the beginning of 2025 and Poland finished runner-up (325 points) at the team event while she lost in the semi-final in Melbourne (780).

She can, of course, earn more points in 2026 by winning both of those events (500 for an undefeated champion at the United Cup and 2,000 at the Australian Open).

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Gauff – 930

The two-time Grand Slam winner led the United States to the United Cup last year as she finished the tournament undefeated (500) while she lost in the quarter-final of the Australian Open (430).

A run to the final of this year’s Australian Open will give her a points boost.

Anisimova – 125

The two-time Grand Slam runner-up is best-placed in the top 10 to make a charge as she made a slow start to 2025 before kicking on in February.

The American earned one point in Auckland, 54 in Hobart and 70 at the Australian Open last year.

Anisimova will play in Brisbane and the Australian Open in 2026.

Rybakina – 390

Reigning WTA Finals champion Rybakina is also well-placed ahead of the new year as she earned 150 points at the United Cup and 240 at the Australian Open in 2025.

The Kazakh star has signed up for the Brisbane International before the season-opening Grand Slam in Melbourne.

Pegula – 455

The former world No 3 finished runner-up at Adelaide International (325) and lost in the third round of the Australian Open (130).

Pegula will feature in Brisbane and Adelaide before the Australian Open so there is potential to win a lot of points.

Keys – 2,554

The defending Australian Open champion is facing a slump down the rankings as she will not only defend 2,000 points at Melbourne Park, but also 500 in Adelaide after starting the 2025 campaign with back-to-back titles.

She will also drop 54 points from the Auckland Open.

Keys will play in Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne in 2026.

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