WTA Rankings: How Coco Gauff can overtake Iga Swiatek after Pole’s shock defeat

Oli Dickson Jefford 20 Mar 2026 2:45 PM

WTA Tour players Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek.

Several big-name WTA Tour stars have not yet taken to court at the Miami Open this year, but one is already packing her bags and heading home.

2022 Miami Open champion and six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek was the first huge casualty of the event on Thursday, with the world No 3 stunned in three sets by compatriot Magda Linette.

Swiatek’s loss opens up the bottom half of the women’s singles draw, something that could benefit world No 4 and fourth seed Coco Gauff — who was projected to face the Pole in the semi-final, and now has the chance to move ahead of her rival in the WTA Rankings.

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As it stands

Swiatek was defending quarter-finalist points at the Miami Open, and her round-two loss will see her drop points in the WTA Rankings.

As per the WTA Live Rankings, the world No 3 is set to drop 150 points and sit on 7,263 points when the WTA Rankings update post-tournament.

The good news for Swiatek is that she is assured of remaining inside the top four of the WTA Rankings once the event is complete.

However, it is possible that Gauff could now overtake her, should she go deep.

What does Gauff need to do?

Ahead of her opening match at the tournament, Gauff has 6,748 points in the official WTA Rankings, and 6,638 points in the Live WTA Rankings.

The American reached the fourth round of the tournament twelve months ago and has 120 ranking points to defend as a result; she has already defended ten points merely by entering the event.

Should she reach the fourth round for the second straight year, she would be guaranteed to remain at least on her current total of 6,478 points, looking ahead across the rest of the event.

However, the American would gain ranking should she progress any further, and would close the gap to Swiatek significantly if she were to reach the quarter-final or semi-final.

And, if Gauff were to reach the final, she would overtake Swiatek in the rankings.

The 21-year-old is projected to hold 7,278 points with a run to the final, and an impressive 7,628 points with a run to what would be a first Miami Open title.

Gauff herself is not assured of remaining at her current ranking post-event, with both Jessica Pegula and Amanda Anisimova capable of moving ahead of her should results swing in their favour.

However, Gauff is the only player who can move ahead of Swiatek, and has the chance to move one step closer to Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina at the top of the game.

Coco Gauff potential ranking points
Champion: 7,628 points
Finalist: 7,278 points
Semi-final: 7,018 points
Quarter-final: 6,843 points
Round 4: 6,748 points
Round 3: 6,693 points
Round 2: 6,638 points