WTA Rankings Winners & Losers after Miami Open: Raducanu top 50, Eala +65, Sabalenka hits new milestone

Oli Dickson Jefford 29 Mar 2025 10:30 PM

L-R: Aryna Sabalenka, Alex Eala, Emma Raducanu.

Aryna Sabalenka, Alex Eala, and Emma Raducanu.

Top seed Aryna Sabalenka claimed victory in the Miami Open final after a win against fourth seed Jessica Pegula.

Victory allowed Sabalenka to extend her lead at the top of the WTA Rankings – and there was plenty of movement elsewhere.

Live WTA Rankings (March 29, 2025)

1) Aryna Sabalenka, 10,541
2) Iga Swiatek, 7,470
3) Coco Gauff, 6,063
4) Jessica Pegula, 5,796
5) Madison Keys, 4,949
6) Jasmine Paolini, 4,843
7) Mirra Andreeva, 4,710
8) Zheng Qinwen, 4,135
9) Paula Badosa, 3,821
10) Elena Rybakina, 3,808

No matter what happened in Miami, world No 1 Sabalenka was guaranteed to stay atop the WTA Rankings.

The key question was whether she could extend her lead or if world No 2 Swiatek would close the gap in her bid to return to the top.

Behind Sabalenka and Swiatek, an interesting US battle between Gauff, Pegula, and Keys was set, with potential movements possible in the fight to be American No 1.

With Sabalenka winning the title in Miami and Swiatek falling in the last eight, the Belarusian’s lead has grown significantly.

The Belarusian was guaranteed to hold over 10,000 ranking points for the first time in her career prior to the final, and she now has 10,541 points on her record.

Pegula’s run to a first Miami Open final has grown her points lead over world No 5 Keys, and the 31-year-old would have moved to 6,146 points – overtaking Gauff – if she had won the title.

Meanwhile, Paolini’s run to the last four saw her move back ahead of Andreeva and up to world No 6, while a run to the fourth round sees Badosa back up to No 9 despite her injury issues.

However, there’s bad news for Rybakina, who is set to fall to world No 10 on Monday.

Big Winners

Perhaps the biggest winner towards the top is Sabalenka, who now holds an even more commanding lead as the world No 1.

With world No 2 Swiatek defending a huge chunk of points this clay season, the Belarusian looks set for an extended stay as the world’s best player.

However, no woman will make a bigger leap than surprise semi-finalist Alex Eala.

The Filipina’s stunning run to the semi-final – which saw her beat both Keys and Swiatek – will see her break into the top 100 come Monday.

Currently ranked 140th in the world, Eala is projected to rise 65 places to a new high of world No 75 on Monday, and become the first woman from the Philippines to reach the top 100.

There is also good news for Emma Raducanu after an encouraging – and much-needed – run to the quarter-final in Miami.

By reaching her first WTA 1000 quarter-final, world No 60 Raducanu is projected to leap 12 places to world No 48, and be ranked inside the top 50 for the first time since 2022.

Elina Svitolina is projected to jump four places to world No 18, while compatriot Marta Kostyuk will move back up five places to world No 24.

US stars Ashlyn Krueger and McCartney Kessler are both projected to reach new career-high rankings – world No 34 and No 42, respectively – while there’s also good news for Naomi Osaka.

The Japanese is set to return to the top 60 and move up five spots to world No 56.

Miami Open News

Alex Eala: Points and prize money from her fairytale Miami Open run revealed

Jessica Pegula achieves stellar WTA 1000 stat as she ends Alex Eala’s dream Miami Open run

Big Losers

Having reached the final the past two years, a second-round exit to Krueger sees Rybakina drop 640 points and two places.

With the Kazakh set to skip her WTA 500 title defence in Stuttgart in April, a fall from the top-10 looks inevitable.

Danielle Collins, who lost in the fourth round of her title defence to Sabalenka, is also slipping down the rankings post-Miami.

The US star is set to be ranked outside the top 20 on Monday, slipping seven places to world No 22.

2024 semi-finalist Ekaterina Alexandrova will fall six places to world No 26 after her second-round exit, while there’s even worse news for Victoria Azarenka.

Also a semi-finalist in 2024, the former world No 1’s retirement in the second round means she is projected to drop 15 places to world No 47.

After falling out of the top 50 post-Indian Wells, Maria Sakkari will now be outside the top 60 and fall 12 spots to world No 63 after a third-round exit.

Meanwhile, with a projected fall of 27 places to world No 101, Caroline Garcia will be ranked outside the top 100 for the first time since 2013.