WTA Rankings: Aryna Sabalenka gets No 1 surprise, Mirra Andreeva reaches new milestone, Suzan Lamens +37
Aryna Sabalenka has replaced Iga Swiatek at No 1 in the WTA Rankings while Daria Kasatkina, Mirra Andreeva, Suzan Lamens and Sonay Kartal have enjoyed cracking weeks.
Swiatek has topped the rankings for the past 50 weeks, but she has dropped to No 2 behind Sabalenka with the Belarusian returning to the top spot for the first time since November last year.
The change at No 1 came after both players were hit with points penalties for not playing enough WTA 500 events during the season. WTA rules state that players should commit to at least six WTA 500 tournaments per year, but Swiatek has played only two while Sabalenka has featured in four.
With neither in action last week, points from their lowest-earning events in the past year have been removed and Swiatek “lost” 120 points, moving from 9,785 to 9,665, while Sabalenka dropped 10 points and went from 9,716 to 9,706.
It puts the three-time Grand Slam winner back at No 1 as she started her ninth week at the top on Monday with Swiatek’s second stint ending on 50 weeks with her overall tally at 125 weeks.
Coco Gauff has also been hit with a 10-point penalty, but it doesn’t affect her too much as she remains at No 3 with Jessica Pegula, Elena Rybakina and Jasmine Paolini not too far behind.
There is one change in the top 10 as Kasatkina moves up two places to No 9 – one spot behind her career-best position – after winning the Ningbo Open. Kasatkina defeated fellow Russian Mirra Andreeva 6–0, 4–6, 6–4 to win the ninth title of her career.
The 17-year-old Andreeva, who won her first WTA singles title in June, moves up two places to a new high of No 17.
WTA News
Iga Swiatek’s new coach makes bold ‘best tennis athlete of all time’ declaration
Former world No 8 Karolina Muchova reached the semi-final in Ningbo and she moves up five places to No 25.
Suzan Lamens was the other title winner on the WTA Tour last week as she won her maiden trophy at the WTA 250 Japan Open and she is rewarded with a 37-place jump to No 88.
The 25-year-old, who only made her top 150 debut in April this year, is yet to play in the main draw of a Grand Slam event.
Sonay Kartal also reached a new career high as she moved up 10 places to No 92 after winning the ITF Great Britain 16A event over the weekend. Her previous best was No 96, which she reached after winning her maiden WTA title at the Jasmin Open in September.
WTA Rankings Top 20
1. Aryna Sabalenka – 9,706
2. Iga Swiatek Poland – 9,665 points
3. Coco Gauff United States – 5,963
4. Jessica Pegula United States – 5,785
5. Elena Rybakina Kazakhstan – 5,471
6. Jasmine Paolini Italy – 5,144
7. Qinwen Zheng China – 4,480
8. Emma Navarro United States – 3,698
9. Daria Kasatkina – 3,500
10. Beatriz Hadid Maia Brazil – 3,176
11. Danielle Collins United States – 3,176
12. Anna Kalinskaya – 2,975
13. Barbora Krejcikova Czech Republic – 2,974
14. Paula Badosa Spain – 2,898
15. Jelena Ostapenko Latvia – 2,738
16. Diana Shnaider – 2,585
17. Mirra Andreeva – 2,578
18. Marta Kostyuk Ukraine – 2,493
19. Donna Vekic Croatia – 2,308
20. Madison Keys United States – 2,206
