WTA Rankings: Iga Swiatek maintains healthy lead as Barbora Krejcikova returns to top 20

Shahida Jacobs
Barbora Krejcikova in action

Iga Swiatek may have dropped some points after failing to defend her Dubai Tennis Championships title, but she still has a big advantage at the top of the WTA Rankings.

World No 1 Swiatek has been top of the rankings since April last year after she replaced Ashleigh Barty following the Australian’s retirement and, despite her “slip up” in Dubai, she is not in any danger of losing the No 1 spot.

After winning the Qatar Open last week, the Pole finished runner-up to Barbora Krejcikova in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday – her second defeat to the Czech in as many matches and finals.

As a result, Swiatek dropped 315 points to leave her on 10,585 points – still well clear of Aryna Sabalenka’s tally of 6,100. Australian Open champion Sabalenka had a chance to reduce the gap to Swiatek further, but she lost in the quarter-final, also against Krejcikova.

The top 10 is unchanged from the previous week as Sabalenka is followed by Jessica Pegula, Ons Jabeur, Caroline Garcia, Coco Gauff, Maria Sakkari, Daria Kasatkina, Belinda Bencic and Elina Rybakina.

Pegula reached a new career-high of No 3 last week and she added another 245 points to her tally after reaching the semi-final in Dubai.

Krejcikova – who beat the world No 1, world No 2 and world No 3 during her title run – is the biggest mover of the week in the top 20 as she has surged up 14 places to No 16.

It’s a big shift for the Czech player who missed several months of action last year due to injury.

“Last year was really tough, especially for being out for so long. I really couldn’t find my game till the end of the season. Then the end of the season I got injured,” the former world No 2 said.

“Again, during the off-season, I actually started off Christmas playing tennis, I didn’t start before that. I felt like the beginning of the season it was actually a miracle wherever I got. I felt like with just me playing and practicing, being healthy, that I can achieve a big things.

“I’m really happy that I’m here right now with this trophy and that I can celebrate. I hope I’m going to get soon where I belong.”

Further down the rankings, Camila Giorgi was another big winner as the Italian won the Mérida Open and, as a result, jumped 22 places to No 46.

WTA Rankings Top 20

1. Iga Swiatek Poland 10,585 points
2. Aryna Sabalenka – 6,100
3. Jessica Pegula United States 5,495
4. Ons Jabeur Tunisia 4,921
5. Caroline Garcia France 4,835
6. Coco Gauff United States 4,251
7. Maria Sakkari Greece 3,451
8. Daria Kasatkina – 3,375
9. Belinda Bencic Switzerland 2,905
10. Elena Rybakina Kazakhstan 2,815
11. Veronika Kudermetova – 2,620
12. Liudmila Samsonova – 2,301
13. Beatriz Haddad Maia Brazil 2,256
14. Victoria Azarenka – 2,237
15. Petra Kvitova Czech Republc 2,227
16. Barbora Krejcikova Czech Republic 2,205
17. Karolina Pliskova Czech Republic 2,045
18. Ekaterina Alexandrova – 2,030
19. Simona Halep Romania 1,955
20. Madison Keys United States 1,857

Related Articles