Coco Gauff v Amanda Anisimova: Who will finish the year as the American No 1 in WTA Rankings?
Coco Gauff has been the American women’s year-end No 1 the past two seasons, but Amanda Anisimova’s incredible form in recent months means the two-time Grand Slam winner is up against it to make it three years in a row.
On the back of winning her maiden major at the 2023 US Open, Gauff took over the baton from Jessica Pegula as the United States’ leading player on the WTA Tour as she finished as the year-end No 1 for the first time in her career.
In 2024, a mid-season slump resulted in her dropping to as low as No 6 in the rankings and she was in real danger of not being the top American player at the end of the year, but she bounced back by winning the China Open and the season-ending WTA Finals to retain her title.
After briefly dropping to No 4 in April this year, Gauff reclaimed her status as American No 1 a few weeks later and she has been the top player since then with her French Open title a big reason for that
But the 22-year-old now she faces an uphill battle to keep that position with Anisimova the favourite to claim the crown.
Gauff remains at No 3 in the official rankings, but Anisimova’s hot streak has seen her rise to a career-high No 4 as she has picked up an incredible 3,755 points since July (not factoring in points dropped from the previous year) while Gauff has picked up only 975 points.
The WTA Rankings Race To Riyadh is usually a good indicator for the year-end rankings as it only takes into account points earned during the calendar year and Anisimova finds herself ahead of Gauff.
Current WTA Rankings Race Top Five
1. Aryna Sabalenka – 9,610 points
2. Iga Swiatek – 8,153
3. Amanda Anisimova – 5,908
4. Coco Gauff – 5,694
5. Jessica Pegula – 4,705
Anisimova has won the China Open and finished runner-up at Wimbledon and the US Open while Gauff hasn’t reached a final since winning the French Open back in June.
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There were some good signs for Gauff in Beijing last week as the 22-year-old reached the semi-final, but she was then dispatched 6-1, 6-2 by Anisimova, who went on to win her second WTA 1000 title of the year.
What Is To Come For Both?
Gauff is currently in action at the Wuhan Open and she has a chance to build a bigger lead as Anisimova withdrew from the WTA 1000 event due to a calf injury.
The reigning French Open champion has reached the last 16 and she will move to 5,789 points if she wins her next match, while a title run will see her regain third place ahead of Anisimova, as she will move to 6,574 points.
Gauff will end her regular WTA Tour season after the Wuhan event as she doesn’t have any other tournaments remaining on her calendar besides the WTA Finals while Anisimova has one event left as she is scheduled to play at next week’s WTA 500 Ningbo Open.
But the American year-end No 1 battle is likely only to be settled at the WTA Finals where a maximum of 1,500 points are on offer for an undefeated title run.
That big 1,500-point carrot means even Jessica Pegula, the current American No 3, is still in the running despite a big gap to Anisimova in the Race To Riyadh as she is also still alive at the Wuhan Open and a title will see her move to 5,490 points.
