WTA Rankings: Could Aryna Sabalenka lose No 1 spot to Elena Rybakina before French Open?
Aryna Sabalenka’s withdrawal from the Stuttgart Open has left the door ajar for Elena Rybakina in the battle for the world No 1 ranking, but the Kazakh star faces an uphill battle.
The four-time Grand Slam winner has been top of the WTA Rankings since October 2024 when she replaced Iga Swiatek and she has been a dominant figure on the WTA Tour. Since the start of the 2025 season she has reached four major finals, winning the 2025 US Open, and won four WTA 1000 tournaments.
Sabalenka’s back-to-back trophies at the Indian Wells Open and Miami Open helped her to maintain a big lead over her challengers in the rankings as she has a massive 2,917-point advantage over Rybakina.
Coco Gauff is another 800-odd points adrift with Iga Swiatek right on the American’s heels.
Top Four In WTA Rankings
1. Aryna Sabalenka – 11,025
2. Elena Rybakina – 8,108
3. Coco Gauff – 7,278
4. Iga Swiatek – 7,263
There is no chance that Sabalenka will lose the top spot in the next few weeks, but things could get interesting just before the French Open as she has quite a few points to defend.
The Belarusian’s decision not to play at this week’s Porsche Tennis Grand means she will drop points as she finished runner-up to Jelena Ostapenko last year, while her closest rival, Rybakina, doesn’t have points to defend.
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The current Live Rankings put Sabalenka on 10,895 after those points are removed with Rybakina staying on 8,108, Gauff on 7,171 and Swiatek on 7,165 points.
If Rybakina goes on to win the Stuttgart title, that gap will be reduced to 2,287 as she will earn 500 points.
What’s To Come
Both players are set to play at the Madrid Open and it will once again and there is once again a big difference in the points they are defending.
Sabalenka won the 2025 tournament as she beat Gauff in the final, so she will drop 1,000 points while Rybakina will again not drop any points. Even though she lost in the third round last year, she is keeping her sixth-best combined WTA 1000 result as it is higher than the Madrid result.
Hypothetically, the gap could be 1,287 at the start of the Madrid Open and if Rybakina wins the title with Sabalenka making an early exit then the pressure will be on at the Italian Open.
The world No 1 has 215 points to defend in Rome while Rybakina will defend only 65 points.
However, even if Rybakina manages to pull off the impossible and usurp Sabalenka after the Italian Open, her joy will be brief as she will drop another 500 points after the tournament, as she is the defending champion in Strasbourg.
But she will get another chance at Roland Garros as she is defending only 240 points, while Sabalenka will drop 1,300 after losing last year’s final against Gauff.
