WTA rankings: Ostapenko replaces Sakkari in top 10, Pavlyuchenkova returns to top 25

Things are relatively quiet inside the top 10 of the WTA rankings on Monday February 19, with the top 8 players holding their position, but there was one eye-catching move at No 9 that marked a significant change in the fortunes of two household names.

Join us for a look at this week’s notable ranking milestones…

Ostapenko on the rise

Jelena Ostapenko’s plus-2 move from No 11 to No 9 marks the Latvian’s highest ranking since May of 2018, a period of nearly six years.

2024 has been good to the former Roland-Garros champ. When she won the Adelaide title in January, Ostapenko returned to the top 10 for the first time since September of 2018 ahead of the Australian Open.

It has been a really solid start to 2024 for Ostapenko. She’s 14-3 with two titles and the season is still young…

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Sakkari leaves the top 10 for the first time since 2021

Ostapenko’s rise means Maria Sakkari’s fall. The Greek had become a fixture in the top 10 over the last few seasons, but she has finally fallen out as of Monday, dropping two spots from No 9 to No 11. Sakkari is outside of the top 10 for the first time since September of 2021 – an admirable stretch of nearly two and a half seasons.

Hoping to change the tone of her tennis, Sakkari also parted ways with her longtime coach Tom Hill last week.

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Swiatek increases lead at the top

After winning the title at Doha, Iga Swiatek finds herself with a lead of 1,395 points over No 2-ranked Aryna Sabalenka. The Polish juggernaut commences her 91st week atop the WTA rankings, good for tenth all time, this week.

Swiatek and Sabalenka will take their place as the top two seeds in Dubai this week, with another 1000 points on the line.

Pavs pushes higher

Anastasia Pavlychenkova’s rise to relevance continues in 2024. She was outside of the top 800 last February, having recently returned from knee surgery. Fast forward a year and she has achieved her highest ranking since May 22, 2022, up eight spots from 32 to 24 this week.

The 32-year-old, a former world No 11, reached the semi-finals at Doha last week, and is 12-5 on the season.

Pliskova power

Speaking of resurgent players, how about former world No 1 Karolina Pliskova? The Czech reeled off nine victories on the trot over the last two weeks, claiming the title at Cluj-Napoca and reaching the semi-finals at Doha.

Pliskova bottomed out in the rankings two weeks ago, coming in at 78 which was her lowest ranking in over a decade. Two weeks later she’s already back to No 36.

She was forced to pull out of her semi-final in Doha, but over the course of the last two weeks Pliskova demonstrated that she can still be a top talent on tour at the age of 31.

Osaka +461

Naomi Osaka gets a massive ranking boost from reaching the last eight at Doha last week. She jumps 461 spots to No 286 as her comeback picks up steam. Osaka won two matches in succession in Doha for the first time since April of 2022.

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