WTA Rankings: Mirra Andreeva passes Jessica Pegula & Coco Gauff; Zheng Qinwen +31, Emma Raducanu at No 107
Elena Rybakina maintains a healthy lead in the rankings ahead of Aryna Sabalenka while Mirra Andreeva has cracked a new career-high and Zheng Qinwen surged 31 places.
Three-time Grand Slam winner Rybakina started her fourth week at No 1 in the WTA Rankings on Monday and her second-round exit from the China Open didn’t cost her too much as her main rival Aryna Sabalenka also didn’t fare well.
Rybakina lost her first match since becoming world No 1 as she was stunned by Alina Charaeva in Beijing, but with Sabalenka losing in the next round against Nikola Bartunkova, the gap between the two is 2,146 points.
There is a new name at No 3 as Andreeva’s run to the final at the China Open helped her to move ahead of Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff and the reigning French Open champion now finds herself 1,179 points adrift of Sabalenka.
Pegula and Gauff, though, are not too far behind in fourth and fifth place, respectively.
WTA News
Alex Eala warned of ‘suffocating’ challenge facing Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina
Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova’s fourth-round defeat resulted in a two-place drop to No 8 with Elina Svitolina and Karolina Mukova up one place each.
There is a new name at No 11 with Iva Jovic climbing two places to a new high, but she is more than 1,000 points behind Marta Kostyuk in 10th place while Elise Mertens is up five places to No 14 after reaching the semi-final.
Amanda Anisimova was the defending champion in Beijing, but she withdrew from the event and, as a result, dropped six places to No 17 while Jasmine Paolini started the tournament at No 20, but a second-round defeated resulted in a 13-place slump to No 33.
The biggest winner in the top 100 is newly-crowned China Open champion Zheng as she leapt 31 places to No 23.
The former world No 4 was outside the top 100 before the US Open, but her run to the quarter-final of the season-ending Grand Slam helped her to return to the top 100 and now she is back in the top 30.
Bartunkova is rewarded with a five-place jump to a new high of No 29 after reaching the semi-final while other bigger surges came from Tatjana Maria (+13 to No 71), Anna Blinkova (+16 to No 73), Sinja Kraus (+20 to No 75), Leolia Jeanjean (+15 to No 94) and Charaeva (+20 to No 98).
Players to drop 10 places or more in the top 100 are Shuai Zhang (-20 to No 81, Katerina Siniakova (-32 to No 87), Katie Volynets (-14 to No 88), Maya Joint (-17 to No 92), Antonia Ruzic (-10 to No 93), Mccartney Kessler (-18 to No 95).
Emma Raducanu’s drop was not as big, but the former world No 10 has slipped out of the top 100 following her extended absence from the WTA Tour due to a leg injury as she is down seven places to No 107.
WTA Top 20
1. Elena Rybakina Kazakhstan – 9,696
2. Aryna Sabalenka – 7,550
3. Mirra Andreeva – 6,371 (+2)
4. Jessica Pegula United States – 6,225 (-1)
5. Coco Gauff United States – 5,974 (-1)
6. Elina Svitolina Ukraine – 5,024 (+1)
7. Karolina Muchova Czechia – 4,773 (+1)
8. Linda Noskova Czechia – 4,679 (-2)
9. Iga Swiatek Poland – 3,999
10. Marta Kostyuk Ukraine – 3,910
11. Iva Jovic United States – 2,860 (+2)
12. Belinda Bencic Switzerland – 2,760
13. Diana Shnaider – 2,643 (+1)
14. Elise Mertens Belgium – 2,540 (+5)
15. Victoria Mboko Canada – 2,502
16. Sorana Cirstea Romania – 2,424
17. Amanda Anisimova United States – 2,363 (-6)
18. Naomi Osaka Japan – 2,351 (-1)
19. Alex Eala Philippines – 2,241 (-1)
20. Madison Keys United States – 2,110 (+3)
