WTA Rankings: Iga Swiatek increases lead at the top, German teen Noma Noha Akugue surges up
Iga Swiatek’s home title in Warsaw means she will head to North America with a handy lead over Aryna Sabalenka in the WTA Rankings while further down the rankings Noma Noha Akugue was the biggest winner of the week.
Four-time Grand Slam winner Swiatek won her maiden title on home soil on Sunday as she brushed aside Laura Siegemund in the Poland Open final to add another 175 points to her tally.
That puts the Pole on 9,490 points at the top of the rankings – 645 ahead of Sabalenka – and she has now spent 69 consecutive weeks at No 1, which leaves her just two behind Caroline Wozniacki (71) in 10th place on the all-time list for most weeks spent at No 1.
Swiatek and Sabalenka won’t feature on the WTA Tour this week so the top two will remain unchanged and the latter will get another opportunity to replace the Pole at the top at the Canadian Open from August 7.
There were minimal changes in the top 20 this week with Ons Jabeur and Caroline Garcia swapping places as the former is now back up to No 5. Meanwhile, French Open runner-up Karolina Muchova moved up one spot to No 17.
The biggest changes came further down the list with Arantxa Rus moving up 18 places to a career-high No 42 after winning her maiden title at the Hamburg European Open. The Dutchwoman’s previous best was No 60.
Meanwhile, German teenager Noma Noha Akugue capped off an incredible week with a runners-up trophy and a new career-high of No 142. After being handed a wildcard for the Hamburg event, the 19-year-old reached the final and has surged up 65 places to No 142 in the rankings.
Elisabetta Cocciaretto was the other trophy winner on the WTA Tour over the weekend as the Italian won the Ladies Open Lausanne, beating France’s Clara Burel in the final.
Cocciaretto climbed 12 places to a career-high No 30 while 22-year-old Burel jumped 23 places to No 61.
In terms of British interest, Katie Boulter is the highest-ranked player at No 76, followed by Jodie Burrage (94), Emma Raducanu (133) and Heather Watson (134).
WTA Rankings Top 20
1. Iga Swiatek Poland 9,490 points
2. Aryna Sabalenka – 8,845
3. Elena Rybakina Kazakhstan 5,465
4. Jessica Pegula United States 5,395
5. Ons Jabeur Tunisia 4,846
6. Caroline Garcia France 4,865
7. Coco Gauff United States 3,390
8. Petra Kvitova Czech Republic 3,341
9. Maria Sakkari Greece 3,310
10. Marketa Vondrousova Czech Republic 3,106
11. Daria Kasatkina – 3,015
12. Barbora Krejcikova Czech Republic 2,840
13. Beatriz Haddad Maia Brazil 2,745
14. Veronika Kudermetova – 2,570
15. Belinda Bencic Switzerland 2,560
16. Madison Keys United States 2,535
17. Karolina Muchova Czech Republic 2,333
18. Liudmila Samsonova – 2,315
19. Victoria Azarenka – 2,235
20. Jelena Ostapenko Latvia 2,165
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