WTA Rankings: Swiatek still well on top as Muchova makes big strides

The Pole begins her 73rd consecutive week as the women’s world No 1. Meanwhile, the Czech grip on Top 20 solidifies

Iga Swiatek in Montreal (ICON SMI/Panoramic)

August 21, 2023

Iga Swiatek remains at the top of the WTA rankings, with a healthy lead of around 1200 points over second-placed Aryna Sabalenka.

The Pole’s top spot has been under threat for the past few months, after she enjoyed an almost unassailable lead for much of last season.

The 4-time Grand Slam champion has kept all challenges at bay so far, but the No 1 ranking will again be up for grabs at the upcoming US Open in New York, with Swiatek defending 2000 points from last year’s title win.

Gauff remains outside of Top 5, despite first WTA 1000 title

Despite winning her first WTA 1000 title in Cincinnati last week, Coco Gauff has only moved up one place from 7th to 6th, swapping positions with Caroline Garcia of France (with Garcia having won the same tournament last year).

✅ First WTA 1000 title
🏆 Youngest Cincy women’s singles champion
🎉 5th title of the season#CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/34dhWrOxe1
— Western & Southern Open (@CincyTennis) August 20, 2023

There was no movement within the Top 5, with most rises coming further down the rankings.

The biggest jump in the Top 20 was Karolina Muchova, who has risen seven places from No 17 to No 10, after an excellent showing in the Midwest where she reached a second final of the season, beating Aryna Sabalenka once again along the way.

Muchova surges as Czech tennis thrives

Muchova’s rise is demonstrative of a wider trend in Czech women’s tennis right now, as four of the WTA’s Top 20 (and two of the top ten places) are occupied by players from this country.

Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova has risen again by one place to No 9, while Kvitova and Krejcikova have just slipped outside of the Top 10, but remain at No 11 and 12 respectively.

Other big movers in the Top 50 this week included Jasmine Paolini, who enjoyed a run to the last eight in Cincinnati, and has been rewarded with a jump of eight places to world No 35.

Linda Noskova – another bright young Czech talent – also surged eight places to 42nd, while Tatjana Maria made a jump of nine places to crack back into the Top 50 at 49th.