WTA Rankings: Iga Swiatek increases lead, but Aryna Sabalenka will get another bite of No 1 cherry at US Open

Shahida Jacobs 21 Aug 2023 1:52 PM

Iga Swiatek during a match

Iga Swiatek has managed to extend her lead at the top of the WTA Rankings, but Aryna Sabalenka will have yet another opportunity to replace her at No 1 at the US Open.

On the back of reaching the semi-final of the Cincinnati Open, Swiatek moved to 9,955 points as she stretched the lead between herself and Sabalenka at the top from 984 points to 1,209 points.

And while that is a handy lead during the regular WTA Tour season, that cushion is not quite as comfortable with the US Open around the corner where both players have a lot of points to defend.

As the reigning US Open champion, Swiatek will drop 2,000 at Flushing Meadows which effectively puts her on 7,955 when the tournament starts. Sabalenka reached the semi-final last year so she will start the final Grand Slam of the year with 7,966 points.

It will then be a case of the player that goes further in the tournament will be No 1 after the New York event.

But for now, Swiatek stays at No 1 as she started her 73rd consecutive week at the top on Monday and, with the big-name players not featuring this week, the Pole will move to 75 weeks before the rankings are updated again after the US Open.

Jessica Pegula, meanwhile, remains at No 3 in the rankings despite her early exit in Cincinnati with Elena Rybakina, Ons Jabeur and Coco Gauff completing the top five.

Gauff was the big winner over the past week as she won her first WTA 1000 title, defeating Swiatek in the semi-final in Cincy and Karolina Muchova in the final. The 19-year-old is now just 236 points adrift of Jabeur in fourth place.

Muchova, meanwhile, rises seven places to move into the top 10 for the first time following her runners-up finish in Ohio while there are minimal changes to the rest of the top 20.

Further down the list, Cincy qualifier Jasmine Paolini is up to a career-high No 35 after reaching the quarter-final while another qualifier, 18-year-old Linda Noskova is also up eight places to a new high of NO 42 after she made it to the third round.

In terms of the British contingent, Katie Boulter is still No 1 as she remained at No 60 while Jodie Burrage is up five places to No 95 with Heather Watson at No 138, Harriet Dart No 140, Katie Swan at No 174 and Emma Raducanu at No 186.

WTA Rankings Top 20

1. Iga Swiatek Poland 9,955 points
2. Aryna Sabalenka – 8,746
3. Jessica Pegula United States 5,945
4. Elena Rybakina Kazakhstan 5,670
5. Ons Jabeur Tunisia 4,831
6. Coco Gauff United States 4,595
7. Caroline Garcia France 3,820
8. Maria Sakkari Greece 3,585
9. Marketa Vondrousova Czech Republic 3,400
10. Karolina Muchova Czech Republic 2,995
11. Petra Kvitova Czech Republic 2,920
12. Barbora Krejcikova Czech Republic 2,840
13. Daria Kasatkina – 2,780
14. Liudmila Samsonova – 2,745
15. Belinda Bencic Switzerland 2,605
16. Veronika Kudermetova – 2,480
17. Madison Keys United States 2,290
18. Victoria Azarenka – 2,235
19. Beatriz Haddad Maia Brazil 2,220
20. Jelena Ostapenko Latvia 2,160