Elena Rybakina set to secure a new career-high WTA ranking

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Elena Rybakina in action

Elena Rybakina is set to improve to a new career-high ranking after her appearance in the Indian Wells Open final.

Rybakina started the fortnight ranked 10th, the highest she has been but could find herself as high as No 7 if she reverses the Australian Open final result in California on Sunday.

If she loses the final, Rybakina will move up just one place to ninth on the rankings displacing Belinda Bencic.

Either way, Maria Sakkari will slip from her place as the world No 7 after she failed to match her run to the final at Indian Wells in 2022, Sakkari will drop below Daria Kasatkina, who broke even having lost in the Round of 32 in both this season and the last.

However, it seems that there will be little that can be done to stop Rybakina charging up the rankings after the confidence-boosting wins she has already scored this year.

“There are moments where you can feel, `OK, I can beat anyone if I always play like this,’” Rybakina said.

World No 1 Iga Swiatek will drop back down to a four-figure ranking points total like the rest of the mortals on tour, and Sabalenka can cut her lead a little more with another big title win on Sunday.

The World No 2 only had ten rankings points to defend which means she could be in line for a 990 point jump which would take her beyond 7000, 2975 points behind Swiatek.

World No 6 Coco Gauff makes a slender gain in terms of points but remains some way behind fifth-ranked Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia.

Gauff improved her performance at Indian Wells from a Round of 16 exit in 2022 to a last eight defeat this week.

World No 4 Ons Jabeur also makes a small points gain which keeps her ahead of Garcia who also increased her overall tally with her results at Indian Wells this week.

World No 9 Bencic will drop down into tenth having broken even with another round of 64 loss at Indian Wells.

World No 3 Jessica Pegula and Bencic have points to defend from their respective runs to the last four in Miami last term and Swiatek has a full house on the line again, but otherwise there are big opportunities for the top ten to make a charge in the second half of the Sunshine Double.

Rybakina is out to make her mark in Indian Wells by eliminating her errors from the Australian Open.

“Yeah, it’s going to be not an easy match, and it’s going to be in these clutch moments I just need to play better. Hopefully now it’s going to change the score between us,” she said.

READ MORE: Indian Wells set to stage Australian Open final rematch

Elena Rybakina

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