WTA Rankings: Iga Swiatek opens 3,557-point lead, Sabalenka again holds off Gauff as Osaka eyes top 100
Iga Swiatek conquered Rome once more and the end result is an even bigger lead over Aryna Sabalenka at the top of the WTA Rankings.
The dominant Pole followed up her Madrid Open title with the Italian Open trophy on Saturday as she defeated Sabalenka for the second final in a row, only this time she brushed the world No 2 aside in straight sets and not three.
Swiatek earned 1,000 points for her effort and it means she will start her Roland Garros title defence with a remarkable 3,557-point advantage over the Belarusian.
And there is further good news as she will remain at the top even if she fails to win a fourth title in Paris.
The 22-year-old started her 105th week at No 1 on Monday as she continues to edge closer to Justine Henin in the all-time list for most weeks spent at No 1. Henin is currently in seventh place on the list on 117 weeks.
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Sabalenka’s runners-up spot in Rome means she again kept Coco Gauff at bay in the race for the No 2 ranking as the American had the chance to overtake her. Gauff, though, lost in the semi-final.
The only change in the top 10 saw Maria Sakkari and Qinwen Zheng swap places with the Greek moving up one spot to No 7.
Danielle Collins enjoyed another good week in Rome as she reached the semi-final and she is up three spots to No 12.
Further down the list, the 20-year-old Diana Shnaider jumped 15 places to a career-high No 47. Moyuka Uchijima from Japan is up 30 spots to No 80 as she won the ITF event in Spain over the weekend.
Rebeccaa Sramkova came through qualifying in Rome and reached the third round with the reward a 31-place surge to No 89.
Outside the top 100, four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka moved up 39 places to No 134 and a couple of wins at Roland Garros will see her crack the top 100 again. Fellow former world No 1 Angelique Kerber surged 93 spots to No 238 as both continue to make their way back up the rankings after a year off to give birth.
WTA Rankings Top 20
1. Iga Swiatek Poland – 11,695 points
2. Aryna Sabalenka – 8,138
3. Coco Gauff United States – 7,638
4. Elena Rybakina Kazakhstan – 5,673
5. Marketa Vondrousova Czech Republic – 4,090
6. Jessica Pegula United States – 4,035
7. Maria Sakkari Greece – 3,980
8. Qinwen Zheng China – 3,945
9. Ons Jabeur Tunisia – 3,748
10. Jelena Ostapenko Latvia – 3,318
11. Daria Kasatkina – 3,258
12. Danielle Collins United States – 3,148
13. Jasmine Paolini Italy – 2,898
14. Beatriz Haddad Maia Brazil – 2,885
15. Karolina Muchova Czech Republic – 2,810
16. Madison Keys United States – 2,783
17. Elina Svitolina Ukraine – 2,510
18. Ekaterina Alexandrova – 2,450
19. Liudmila Samsonova – 2,440
20. Marta Kostyuk Ukraine – 2,180
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