Live WTA Rankings: Coco Gauff on course to return to No 3, Karolina Muchova breaks new ground
There will be at least one newcomer to the top 10 of the WTA Rankings after Wimbledon while Coco Gauff has a chance to return to No 3.
The 2026 grass-court Grand Slam has delivered several shocks early on with defending champion Iga Swiatek, world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No 2 Elena Rybakina all failing to reach the business end of the tournament.
Despite their early exits, Sabalenka and Rybakina will hold onto the top two positions in the rankings after Wimbledon, but there are set to be quite a few changes behind them in the top 10.
Having previously failed to make it past the fourth round at Wimbledon, Gauff has not only reached the quarter-final this year, but has gone on to make it to the last four after beating fellow American and good friend Jessica Pegula.
“Today was, I don’t know, if you told me I would be in the semis of this tournament, I’d be, ‘You’re funny (laughter).’ Especially like my match in Berlin, the match last year here, the last two years just not winning anything on here,” she said after her 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 win.
“I think it was just more like how too just because so many three-setters, and it’s like how am I getting out of these matches, just winning them. Also just playing against Jess.
“I’m confident in myself and the player that I am, but I’m also looking at things, I know tennis. Yeah, if I wasn’t myself, I would take maybe her to win with that game style she has on this surface.
“But because I am me, I pick myself. I think it was just more so that reaction came from like a third-person point of view rather than necessarily me in the moment.”
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WTA Rankings Top 10 Before Wimbledon
1. Aryna Sabalenka – 9,090
2. Elena Rybakina – 8,143
3. Iga Swiatek – 6,409
4. Jessica Pegula – 5,881
5. Mirra Andreeva – 5,653
6. Amanda Anisimova – 5,523
7. Coco Gauff – 4,879
8. Elina Svitolina – 4,471
9. Karolina Muchova – 3,878
10. Victoria Mboko – 3,670
That comeback win has given her a big boost in the rankings as she has climbed three places to No 4 and she could still return to No 3 for the first time since April. Gauff only had 10 points to defend following her shock first-round exit last year, but she has now earned 780 points with her run to the semi-final.
But it won’t be easy as she can only move up one more spot by winning the title.
First, she has to get past Karolina Muchova, who beat Naomi Osaka, in the semi-final and the Czech is in good form on grass as she won the Bad Homburg Open in the lead-up to Wimbledon.
Muchova is up three places to a new career-high No 6 and she could jump as high as No 4 if she is the last woman standing at SW19 come Saturday afternoon.
Live WTA Rankings (8 July)
1. Aryna Sabalenka – 8,550
2. Elena Rybakina – 8,143
3. Jessica Pegula – 6,301 (+1)
4. Coco Gauff – 5,649 (+3)
5. Mirra Andreeva – 5,293
6. Karolina Muchova – 5,648 (+3)
7. Iga Swiatek – 4,539 (-3)
8. Amanda Anisimova – 4,353 (-2)
9. Elina Svitolina – 4,351 (-1)
10. Victoria Mboko – 3,580
The four quarter-finalists from the bottom half will complete their matches on Wednesday with Marta Kostyuk taking on Jasmine Paolini while Linda Noskova faces Elise Mertens.
Kostyuk sits at No 11 in the Live Rankings ahead of the match and she will break into the top 10 if she reaches the semi-final, while a title run could see her rise to No 6 while former world No 4 Paolini could jump to No 5.
Noskova could also make her top-10 bow with a semi-final with sixth place waving at her if she wins the title while Mertens currently sits at No 24 and could rise to No 13 if she becomes Wimbledon champion.
