WTA Rankings: Aryna Sabalenka’s lead over Iga Swiatek grows, Mirra Andreeva milestone, Emma Raducanu +6
Aryna Sabalenka had a nightmare run in the Middle East yet she has managed to open a big advantage over Iga Swiatek at the top of the WTA Rankings while Mirra Andreeva and Clara Tauson enjoyed memorable weeks in Dubai.
Having suffered an early exit from the first WTA 1000 event of the season at the Qatar Open, Sabalenka followed it up with a third-round loss at the Dubai Tennis Championships, earning just 120 points for her effort.
But with Swiatek – who lost in the quarter-final – failing to defend her semi-final points from last year, the three-time Grand Slam winner extended her points lead to 1,091.
That tally is likely to grow in March as the Pole has 1,120 points to defend at the Indian Wells-Miami Sunshine Double while the Belarusian will only drop 185 points.
Sabalenka, currently in her second spell as world No 1, started her 27th week at the top on Monday and moved ahead of Dinara Safina into 16th place for most weeks at No 1 in the all-time list. The 15th-placed Angelique Kerber on 34 weeks is her next target.
Swiatek remains well clear of Coco Gauff, who missed an opportunity to get closer to the top two with early defeats at the two Middle East WTA 1000 tournaments, while Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys both move up one place on the back of Jasmine Paolini’s failure to defend her Dubai crown.
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Keys breaks into the top five for the first time despite not playing any events since winning the Australian Open.
She is followed by Paolini, Elena Rybakina, Zheng Qinwen and new top-10 entrant Andreeva.
The 17-year-old Andreeva – who defeated fellow rising star Tauson in the final – became the youngest WTA 1000 title winner since 2009 and she earned a five-place rise in the WTA Rankings.
The Russian, who turns 18 on 29 April, is the youngest player to make the top 10 since Nicole Vaidisova (17 years and 106 days) reached that milestone in August 2006.
Runner-up Tauson, meanwhile, surged 15 places with her run and she now sits at a high of No 23.
Last year’s finalist Anna Kalinskaya lost in the first round in 2025 and she slips 15 places to No 34 while Marketa Vondrousova is down seven spots to No 46.
Sofia Kenin reached the quarter-final in Dubai after receiving a wildcard and she is rewarded with a nine-place jump to No 47 while Moyuka Uchijima came through qualifying to reach the second round and she now sits at No 54 (+8).
Uchijima is one place ahead of Emma Raducanu as the British player ended her nightmare run with an opening-round win in Dubai, moving up six places. The 2021 US Open winner had lost four matches in a row, but she beat Maria Sakkari in straight sets before losing against Karolina Muchova in the next match.
Former world No 4 Belinda Bencic is now in the top 60 as she moved up another eight places to No 58 while Alycia Parks rose 13 spots to No 61.
WTA Rankings Top 20
1. Aryna Sabalenka – 9,076 points
2. Iga Swiatek Poland – 7,985
3. Coco Gauff United States – 6,333
4. Jessica Pegula United States – 5,196
5. Madison Keys United States – 4,680
6. Jasmine Paolini Italy – 4,518
7. Elena Rybakina Kazakhstan – 4,328
8. Zheng Qinwen China – 3,780
9. Mirra Andreeva – 3,720
10. Emma Navarro United States – 3,704
11. Paula Badosa Spain – 3,698
12. Daria Kasatkina – 3,116
13. Diana Shnaider – 2,908
14. Danielle Collins United States – 2,877
15. Karolina Muchova Czech Republic – 2,734
16. Barbora Krejcikova Czech Republic – 2,675
17. Beatriz Hadid Maia Brazil – 2,369
18. Amanda Anisimova United States – 2,326
19. Marta Kostyuk Ukraine – 2,279
20. Donna Vekic Croatia – 2,163
