Rafael Nadal news: Where does the Spaniard – and everyone else – sit in the rankings after Aus Open?

Rafael Nadal celebrates Australian Open win

The Australian Open is over for another year: trophies have been lifted, players have ranted at fans and rankings have changed – unless you’re Novak Djokovic.

The Serbian didn’t even take part in the season opening Grand Slam due to being kicked out of the country after his medical exemption was ruled not valid to stay in the country and it was feared his non vaccinated status would cause unrest Down Under – but he is still the world No 1.

Had Daniil Medvedev beaten Rafael Nadal in the final the 34-year-old would have been demoted a place, but luckily for him his rival won the major tournament and he maintains top spot, while the Russian stays just below him.

However, Nadal is now on 21 career Grand Slam titles, which is one more than both Djokovic and Roger Federer’s totals – but the Spaniard retains his No 5 place in the ATP rankings despite this comeback victory.

The biggest mover from the men’s tournament is Matteo Berrettini who climbed two places to switch places with Andrey Rublev in 6th spot as a result of reaching the semi-finals at the Australian Open for the first time, and he is the only player to rise in the top 10.

But just outside the top 10 is Canadian player Denis Shapovalov who similarly rose two places to No 12 after he caused an upset to reach his place in the quarter finals by beating Alexander Zverev, and helped his Canadian team win the ATP Cup at the beginning of January.

Over on the women’s rankings, Australian Open champion Ashleigh Barty unsurprisingly keeps hold of her No 1 place after claiming her first victory in front of a home crowd, and it’ll be the 113th week she’s been in top spot overall.

Her opponent in the final, Danielle Collins, has jumped an impressive 20 places following her Australian Open performance – she started the tournament at No 30 but has now made her debut in the top 10, climbing to No 10 making her the highest ranked American player as she’s ahead of Barty’s semi final rival Jessica Pegula.

British sensation Emma Raducanu who didn’t do amazingly at the Australian Open has still managed to bolster her position as this was her first ever time at the season opening Grand Slam, therefore she had no ranking points to defend from last season.

The 19-year-old has rise five places in the latest WTA rankings to No 13, the highest she’s got in her career so far, and there’s plenty of opportunity this season to build on that given it’s her first full year on the tour.

Polish player Iga Swiatek is another noticeable mover as she went from No 9 to No 4 following her advancement to the semi finals in Australia, meaning she’s now equalling her previous career best ranking.

Kaia Kanepi, who reached the quarter finals Down Under before she was beaten by Swiatek, has made the biggest leap as she went from No 115 to a place in the top 100 at No 63.

But on the other end of the scale, Naomi Osaka dropped a dramatic 71 places after she bowed out of the major tournament at the third round stage following her defeat to No 41 Amanda Anisimova.

The 2021 Australian Open champion started the tournament as the world No 14, but after she was denied the chance to defend her title she has now slipped down to No 85.

It’s only early in the season, but already there are big changes in the rankings in both the men and the women’s game.

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