WTA Rankings Race To Riyadh: Aryna Sabalenka pulls away from rivals, Coco Gauff in the running again

Aryna Sabalenka has strengthened her grip at the top in the WTA Rankings Race To Riyadh while a couple of players have surged into the top eight after their performances at the Madrid Open.

Having played second fiddle to Madison Keys during the first few months of the season following the American’s Australian Open title run, Sabalenka has produced dominant display after dominant display in recent months to take over the No 1 spot in the standings.

She is currently the favourite to be the top seed for the season-ending tournament in Saudi Arabia in November, where eight players will compete for the biggest prize pot in women’s tennis.

The women who occupy the top seven places in the Rankings Race To Riyadh at the end of the regular WTA Tour season qualify for the event while one place is reserved for a current-year Grand Slam winner who sits between eighth and 20th in the rankings.

Last year, Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova finished outside the top 10, but qualified via the Grand Slam champion rule.

If all four Grand Slam winners are among the top seven in the rankings, then the final spot will go to the player at No 8 in the Race.

There are also two alternate spots available for the two women who are ranked at No 9 and No 10 and they will step up if one of the top eight players withdraws from the tournament.

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Sabalenka is yet to win the WTA Finals with her best performance a runners-up trophy in 2022, but she is on course to make a fifth consecutive appearance.

After finishing runner-up to Mirra Andreeva at the Indian Wells Open, the three-time Grand Slam winner followed it up with the title in Miami before losing another final at the Stuttgart Open.

But she returned to trophy-winning ways at the Madrid Open as she won the tournament for a third time and with it came 1,000 points to add to her tally in the WTA Rankings Race To Riyahd.

The Belarusian – who also earned 1,300 points for finishing runner-up to Keys at the season-opening Grand Slam at Melbourne Park – now sits 4,905 points for a lead of more than 1,600 over second-placed Keys while Andreeva is another 1,000-odd points adrift in third place.

Five-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula remain in fourth and fifth, respectively, after the WTA 1000 tournament in the Spanish capital but Coco Gauff has surged up six places to No 6 following her run to the final.

The American was 13–5 this year before the Madrid Open, but finishing runner-up to Sabalenka boosted her points tally by 650 and she is now 535 points behind fellow American Pegula.

Elina Svitolina jumped nine places to No 7 on the back reaching the semi-final in Madrid with Ekaterina Alexandrova completing the top eight.

American pair Emma Navarro and Amanda Anisimova occupy the two alternate spots, but there are still a long way to go in the 2025 season with three Grand Slams and five WTA 1000 tournaments still to come.

Top 12 In WTA Rankings Race

1. Aryna Sabalenka – 4,905
2. Madison Keys – 3,284
3. Mirra Andreeva – 2,840
4. Iga Swiatek – 2,813
5. Jessica Pegula – 2,483
6. Coco Gauff – 1,948
7. Elina Svitolina – 1,536
8. Ekaterina Alexandrova – 1,501
9. Emma Navarro – 1,477
10. Amanda Anisimova – 1,470
11. Elena Rybakina – 1,385
12. Clara Tauson – 1,376