Sensational rankings leap to be confirmed for several players on WTA and ATP Tours
The world’s best players are in China for the final few days of the Asian swing of the WTA and ATP Tours, with some dramatic moves in the rankings set to be confirmed next week.
Some surprise results in the ATP events in Beijing and Shanghai, along with unexpected results for female players in Beijing and Zhengzhou have inspired dramatic rises for players who have been catapulted up the rankings.
In the women’s rankings, Iga Swiatek moved closer to reclaiming the world No 1 ranking after her 6-2 6-2 victory over Liudmila Samsonova in the China Open final.
The battle for the top spot is set to run through to the WTA Finals in Cancun next month and there have also been some big movers lower down the rankings.
Daria Kasatkina is closing in on a place in the top ten once again after her impressive form in Zhengzhou and she is up to No 11 in the provisional rankings.
Meanwhile, the Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcikova is also eyeing up an end-of-season charge into the top 10 after her run in Zhengzhou, as she is up to 12 on the provisional list.
The biggest winner of the week on the WTA Tour is China’s Qinwen Zheng, who came through qualifying and has enjoyed a run to the final in Zhengzhou.
Zheng is now up to a No 21 in the provisional rankings as she eyes a return to the top 20.
On the ATP Tour, Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov could be a contender to make a push for a return to the 10 ten of the rankings after his impressive form in China.
He is currently up to No 16 in the provisional rankings, with his win against world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz in Shanghai the stand-out result of his year to date.
Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan is set to leap up a massive 26 places in the ATP rankings after his run to the quarter-finals in Shanghai.
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Great Britain’s Jack Draper is also making big strides back up the rankings after his miserable run of bad luck with injuries and he is set to leap up to No 88 in next week’s list.
In the top ten of the men’s rankings, Andrey Rublev will rise into the top five for the first time in his career after he beat Dimitrov in the Shanghai semi-finals.
Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz is also back in form after his run to the latter stages in Shanghai and he is up to No 13 in the provisional list after his run to the Shanghai final.
Both
Both Rublev and Hurkacz are vying for a second Masters 1000 title, with Russian Rublev going for a second of the season having lifted the trophy in Monte Carlo in April.
He edged a very close first set against Dimitrov, who defeated Carlos Alcaraz earlier in the tournament, before coming from a breakdown in the second to clinch a 7-6 (7) 6-3 victory.
The 25-year-old will climb to a career-high world number four if he can claim the title on Sunday.
Hurkacz produced a strong serving display against Sebastian Korda to reach a Masters final for the third successive season.
Korda battled for nearly three hours to see off fellow young American Ben Shelton in the last eight and was unable to produce the same level of play here.
But he was kept at arm’s length by Hurkacz, who did not face a break point during the contest, wrapping up a 6-3 6-4 victory in an hour and 17 minutes.
