WTA rankings: Sabalenka closes gap on Swiatek again, Zheng makes top 10 debut

In 2023 Aryna Sabalenka made it her mission to track down Iga Swiatek for the No 1 ranking. She fulfilled her dream, rising to No 1 for eight weeks, then Swiatek stormed back and reclaimed the top spot to end the season.

In 2024, here comes Sabalenka, again.

By defending her title in Melbourne, Sabalenka ticked 110 points closer to the top ranking. It might not sound like a lot, but given the fact that she was defending 2000 points at the Australian Open, while Swiatek had the chance to gain 1800 points, we see that this is a big development in a race that will play out across the globe over the next 52 weeks.

Zheng cracks milestone for China

China’s Zheng Qinwen is the biggest riser inside the top 25 this week, ticking up eight spots to crack the top 10 for the first time. The 21-year-old, who reached her maiden Grand Slam final at the Australian Open, rises from No 15 to No 8, which pushes Jelena Ostapenko out of the top 10, from No 10 to No 12.

Zheng joins legend Li Na as one of the only two Chinese players to ever hold a top 10 singles ranking.

There were some other minor adjustments inside the top 10. Americans Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula each slide up one spot. Gauff returns to her career-high at No 3, while Pegula jumps to No 4. Elena Rybakina, who was defending final points but fell in the second round at Melbourne, drops from No 3 to No 5.

Yastremska jumps 64 spots, back into top 30

Kudos to Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska, who reached the semi-finals all the way from qualifying at Melbourne. The 23-year-old, a former world No 21, jumps from 93 to 29, after becoming the first women’s singles qualifier to reach the semifinals at the Australian Open since 1978.

Speaking of Ukraine, Elina Svitolina jumped four spots to return to the top-20 for the first time since the spring of 2022. It was a great tournament for Ukrainian women, more in the next section…

Noskova, Kostyuk top 30 debuts

Czech teen Linda Noskova shocked the world when she zoomed past world No 1 Iga Swiatek in the third round in Melbourne, with a breathtaking display of power tennis. She would make it all the way into the quarter-finals and end her tournament the last teenager standing in Melbourne. It was a fantastic showing for one of the rising talents in the women’s game and she is rewarded with a new career-high ranking at No 30. She is now the second highest-ranked teen behind Gauff.

Also rising inside the top 30 is Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk. The 21-year-old reached the quarter-finals in Melbourne, her best Slam performance to date, and cracks a career-high at No 28. That means there are three Ukrainian women inside the top 30 at the moment.

Andreeva makes a new career-high

Speaking of impressive teens, 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva continues her rise up the rankings. She made a successful debut at the Australian Open, reaching the third round, and cracks a career-high of No 35 in the world, up from 47.

Andreeva has made four main draw appearances at the Slams, and reached two round of 16 and two third rounds. Can you say bright future?

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Tennis Majors

Kalinskaya (+37) career-high as well

The chaos in the top half of the women’s draw led to a lot of surprise runs at Melbourne. And those surprise runs have now led to massive jumps in the rankings. Take Russian’s Anna Kalinskaya, who entered Melbourne with a 4-13 lifetime record at the majors and left as a first-time major quarter-finalist. She bowed out to Zheng Qinwen in the last eight, but stands at a career-high ranking of 38 today.

Also hitting a new high was Poland’s Magdalena Frech. The 26-year-old reached the round of 16 at a Slam for the first time and jumps to a career-high No 51 (+18).

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Tennis Majors

Here come the French?

It was a brilliant tournament for France on the women’s side, as Diane Parry, Oceane Dodin and Clara Burel all made big waves.

Parry reached the third round in Melbourne for the first time and jumps 13 spots to within one spot of her career-high ranking, coming in at No 59.

Dodin reached the round of 16 at a major for the first time and rises to No 75, a jump of +20.

Burel also reached the third round, but falls one spot to No 52, just one shy of her career-high.

Brenda Fruhvirtova, Maria timofeeva welcome to the top 100

16-year-old Brenda Fruhvirtova scored her maiden Grand Slam main draw win in Melbourne, and the victory pushed her into the top 100 for the first time. Fruhvirtova, who will turn 17 on April 2, jumps 11 spots to a career-high of 96.

Russia’s Maria Timofeeva, who upset Caroline Wozniacki and Beatriz Haddad Maia to reach the round of 16, rises 70 spots to No 100 this week.

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Tennis Majors