WTA Rankings Winners & Losers Aus Open Week 1: Sabalenka steady, Mboko +3, Keys -6, Sonmez +33
Aryna Sabalenka is on course to open another healthy lead at the top of the WTA Rankings, Coco Gauff and Amanda Anisimova are in a battle for the American No 1 spot while Victoria Mboko, Xinyu Wang and Zeynep Sonmez were among the week one winners at the Australian Open.
Four-time Grand Slam winner Sabalenka started the hard-court Grand Slam with a 2,600-odd point lead over Iga Swiatek, but she dropped 1,300 points at the start of the tournament while the Pole was defending 780.
It meant the gap was reduced, but with both reaching the fourth round, the lead is back to a steady 2,142 points, although it can be reduced to just 382 should the two-time Australian Open champion lose in the next round and Swiatek goes on to win the title.
Of course, there is still a long way to go in the tournament with the world No 1 taking on rising star Mboko next while Swiatek faces Maddison Inglis, who is +55 to No 113.
WTA Top 10 Before Australian Open
1. Aryna Sabalenka – 10,990
2. Iga Swiatek – 8,328
3. Coco Gauff – 6,423
4. Amanda Anisimova – 6,320
5. Elena Rybakina – 5,850
6. Jessica Pegula – 5,453
7. Mirra Andreeva – 4,731
8. Jasmine Paolini – 4,267
9. Madison Keys – 4,111
10. Belinda Bencic – 3,375
Anisimova has moved up one place from fourth place to usurp Gauff in the race to be the No 1 American woman in the rankings as the latter is defending 430 points while Anisimova dropped only 70 points.
The only other two changes in the top 10 saw Belinda Bencic climb one spot to No 9 despite a shock second-round defeat to qualifier Nikola Bartunkova – who surged 19 places to No 107 – while Ekaterina Alexandrova is also +1.
Bencic and Alexandrova earned those boosts on the back of defending champion Keys dropping 2,000 points at the start of the Melbourne Park Grand Slam.
WTA Top 10 Live Rankings
1. Aryna Sabalenka – 9,930
2. Iga Swiatek – 7,788
3. Amanda Anisimova – 6,490
4. Coco Gauff – 6,233
5. Elena Rybakina – 5,850
6. Jessica Pegula – 5,563
7. Mirra Andreeva – 4,731
8. Jasmine Paolini – 4,267
9. Belinda Bencic – 3,512
10. Ekaterina Alexandrova – 2,983
American Keys – who has made a successful defence of her title so far as she has already reached the last 16, is down six places to No 15.
Two places above her sits Mboko with the 19-year-old impressing on her debut at the tournament with a run to the fourth round, but a big test awaits in Sabalenka. If she beats the world No 1 she will climb up to No 11.
Two-time Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka sits at No 14 as she also jumped three spots before withdrawing due to injury.
Other Australian Open Winners
Eighteen-year-old American Iva Jovic has reached a new career-high No 23 on the back of reaching the last 16.
The unseeded Xinyu Wang has caused a few upsets as she beat No 24 Jelena Ostapenko and No 13 Linda Noskova to reach the fourth round and she has been rewarded with a 13-place jump to No 33 – one below her career best and she could rise to No 30 if she beats Anisimova.
Former world No 19 Magda Linette is +11 to No 39 after reaching the last 32, 18-year-old Tereza Valentova jumped 10 places to No 44 after a run to the third round, and Janice Tjen is +14 to a new high of No 47 with her opening round win.
American Peyton Stearns jumped 18 to No 50 after reaching the last 32 and compatriot Hailey Baptiste is six places below after climbing 14 places.
Yulia Putintseva is still alive in the tournament and already up 24 places to No 70 while Oksana Selekhmeteva lost in the round of 32, but she is rewarded with a 25-place surge to No 76.
Turkish star Sonmez was one of the fairytale stories of the Australian Open and she climbed 33 spots to No 79 after reaching the third round after coming through qualifying.
American Alycia Parks, who beat Alex Eala in the first round, is +15 to No 84 with her run to the second round while Eala is +4 to No 45 despite losing in the first round.
Australian Open Losers
Dayana Yastremska started the major at No 28, but she has dropped 15 places to no 43 after losing in the first round.
Eva Lys reached the fourth round as a lucky loser in 2025, but she lost in the first round 12 months later and is -20 in the Live Rankings.
Former world No 8 Daria Kasatkina’s first Australian Open as an Australian player ended in the first round and she is down 19 to No 69.
Former world No 2 Paula Badosa fared even worse as she reached the semi-finals a year ago before losing against Sabalenka, but she lost in the second round and is -38 to No 64, Danielle Collins is -10 and down to No 77 after she missed the tournament and Olga Danilovic is -18 to No 87.
But the biggest dropper in the top 100 is 2025 semi-finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova who is -51 after losing in the first round.
