WTA Rankings winners and losers: Coco Gauff reaches landmark as Linda Noskova and Mirra Andreeva rise
Coco Gauff has for the first time in her career broken through the 7,000-point barrier in the WTA Rankings and she could secure another milestone if she reaches the Australian Open final.
Reigning US Open champion Gauff started the tournament with 6,580 points – the most she had accumulated in her career – and her run to the last four has seen her pick up another 540 points to move to 7,200 points – just 135 points adrift of Aryna Sabalenka in second place in the WTA Rankings.
Sabalenka, though, will move to 7,685 points if she beats Barbora Krejcikova in her quarter-final, but victory will see her set up a semi-final against Gauff and it will be a shootout for the post-Australian Open No 2 ranking.
Iga Swiatek will keep the No 1 spot in the rankings despite her shock third-round defeat to 19-year-old Linda Noskova at Melbourne Park and she will maintain a fairly comfortable lead.
The Pole started the tournament with a 975-point advantage, but that lead will be 865 points if Sabalenka successfully defends her trophy while it will be above 1,000 points if the Belarusian doesn’t win the title.
There will only be a couple of other changes in the top 10 after the tournament with Elena Rybakina dropping two places after her early exit with Gauff and Pegula moving up.
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Other Projected Rankings Winners So Far
– Qinwen Zheng will move up to a new career-high of No 11 after her run to the quarter-final and she could climb into the top 10 for the first time if she reaches the semi-final/final.
– Elina Svitolina will return to the top 20 for the first time since March 2022 – two months before she went on maternity leave – as she is set to climb four places to No 19.
– Czech youngster Noskova is set to rise at least 21 places to a new high of No 29 after reaching the last eight and if she reaches the semi-final she will jump to No 22.
– The 16-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva is projected to climb 13 places to a career-high No 34 after reaching the fourth round.
– Australian Open quarter-finalist Anna Kalinskaya will climb into the top 50 for the first time as she is set to climb 38 places to No 37.
– Dayana Yastremska is set for a 50-place bump as she is set to move to No 43 – still well below her best of No 21, but she could move into the top 50 if she beats Noskova in the last eight.
– Maria Timofeeva is set to crack the top 100 for the first time as she is due a 70-place rise to No 100 after reaching the round of 16.
– Australian Storm Hunter is set to move up 52 places to No 128.
– Andreeva’s 16-year-old compatriot Alina Korneeva is projected to rise 38 places to No 141.
The Projected Rankings Losers So Far
– Former world No 1 Victoria Azarenka is set to slide out of the top 20 as she will drop 10 places to No 32 after losing in the round of 16.
– Poland’s Magda Linette, a former world No 19 who made it to the last four in 2023, will drop 32 places to No 56 after she lost in the opening round at Melbourne Park.
– Camila Giorgi’s spiral also continues as she will move down 15 places to No 68.
– Former world No 1 Karolina Pliskova, who reached the quarter-final last year, got a tough draw as she lost in the first round against Rybakina and she is set to drop 39 spots to No 77.
– The 18-year-old Linda Fruhvirtova will drop out of the top 100 as she will slump 42 places to No 126 after losing in the first round.
