Elena Rybakina’s crowning moment has been confirmed as she has officially replaced Aryna Sabalenka at No 1 in the rankings while the battle for the No 2 spot is heating up.
Sabalenka had been top of the WTA Rankings for 99 consecutive weeks with her run starting on 21 October 2024 and Rybakina initially wasted golden opportunities to overtake her at the French Open and Wimbledon.
But she was not to be denied as all she needed to do at the US Open was to reach the semi-finals and she went two better as she won the title, beating the outgoing No 1 Sabalenka in three sets in the final.
Rybakina earned 1,760 points to her tally as she was defending 240 points from her early exit 12 months ago while Sabalenka dropped 700 points, allowing for a big swing as the Kazakh star now leads by 2,027.
WTA News
But that is not the end of Sabalenka’s woes as she is now under pressure from Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff as the former is 610 points adrift with Gauff another 21 points behind her American compatriot.
Mirra Andreeva and Linda Noskova remain fifth and sixth, respectively, while Elina Svitolina is up two places as Karolina Muchova and Iga Swiatek both dropped one spot.
There is a new entrant in the top 10 with Marta Kostyuk making her debut with Amanda Anisimova dropping one spot to No 11 after her third-round exit.
Diana Shnaider was the biggest mover inside the top 20 as she is up three places to No 13 while Naomi Osaka is down four spots to No 17, one place ahead of Alex Eala, who didn’t move despite reaching the third round.
Yuliia Starodubtseva breaks into the top 50 for the first time as she jumps 15 places to No 43 with former world No 1 Karolina Pliskova two spots behind her as the Czech surged 12 places.
Former world No 4 Zheng Qinwen enjoyed an incredible run at Flushing Meadows as she came through qualifying and went on to reach the quarter-final, beating Grand Slam winners Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek on her run.
Her reward is a return to the top 100 as she is up 69 spots to No 52.
Other players who have moved 10 places or more in the top 100 are Kimberly Birell (+15 to No 56), Lalana Tararudee (+15 to No 61), Paula Badosa (+17 to No 70), Kamilla Rakhimova (+16 to No 76), Jessica Bouzas Maneiro (+12 to No 93), Claire Liu (+15 to No 96) and Sofia Kenin (+10 to No 100).
And in terms of the biggest droppers, Janice Tjen is down 15 places to No 51, Jaqueline Cristian is -11 to No 55, Magdalena Frech -16 to No 57, Ashlyn Krueger -11 to No 71, Alina Korneeva -12 to No 81, Panna Udvardy -15 to No 83, Daria Kasatkina -24 to No 85, Darja Vidmanova -11 to No 87, Emma Raducanu – who missed the event due to injury – is -19 to No 89 and Renata Zarazua -17 to No 91.
WTA Top 20
1. Elena Rybakina Kazakhstan – 9,902 (+1)
2. Aryna Sabalenka – 7,875 (-1)
3. Jessica Pegula United States – 7,265
4. Coco Gauff United States – 7,244
5. Mirra Andreeva – 5,743
6. Linda Noskova Czechia – 5,328
7. Elina Svitolina Ukraine – 4,809 (+2)
8. Karolina Muchova Czechia – 4,683 (-1)
9. Iga Swiatek Poland – 4,6199 (-1)
10. Marta Kostyuk Ukraine – 3,980 (+1)
11. Amanda Anisimova United States – 3,363 (-1)
12. Belinda Bencic Switzerland – 2,935
13. Diana Shnaider – 2,588 (+3)
14. Victoria Mboko Canada – 2,521 (+1)
15. Sorana Cirstea Romania – 2,464 (+2)
16. Iva Jovic United States – 2,390 (-2)
17. Naomi Osaka Japan – 2,306 (-4)
18. Alex Eala Philippines – 2,276 (+2)
19. Elise Mertens Belgium – 2,165 (+1)
20. Jasmine Paolini Italy – 2,123 (+1)
The post WTA Rankings: Rybakina ends Sabalenka’s run, Pegula and Gauff eye No 2 spot, Eala steady, Zheng +69, Radacanu tumbles appeared first on Tennis365.
Leave a Reply