Coco Gauff loses American No. 1 ranking to and slips out of Top 3

Coco Gauff's spell as the best-ranked American WTA player is over after dropping in the newly updated WTA standings.

Gauff is playing her first tournament of the new season at the 2026 United Cup. She began by inspiring Team USA with victories in singles and doubles against Team Argentina, bailing out Taylor Fritz after he lost to Sebastian Baez.

The 21-year-old was in Fritz's position after a surprising loss against Team Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, but she and Christian Harrison then sealed their team's place in the quarterfinals with another doubles triumph.

Gauff had never featured in the United Cup until last year's edition, helping Team USA win its second title. That success and the enjoyment she took from the event convinced her to return.

The 2025 United Cup began on December 27th, 2024, which was very early. That means Gauff has already lost the ranking points she earned for helping Team USA secure the 2025 title, and that has consequences.

Gauff slipped one spot to No. 4. She had finished as the world No. 3 for the third consecutive season, ending each of those years ranked behind Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek, with Sabalenka the 2024 and 2025 year-end No. 1.

Amanda Anisimova overtook Gauff and is the new American No. 1. She has been rewarded for her outstanding 2025 season, which included two Grand Slam finals, two WTA 1000 titles, and qualifying for the 2025 WTA Finals.

The new world No. 3's extraordinarily powerful hitting and natural talent mean many think she has the potential to become the world No. 1, but there are a few things she must improve to make that happen.

Gauff could reclaim the position next week. She is a tiny 14 ranking points behind Anisimova's total of 6,287, and who is No. 3 next week will be decided by whether Gauff accumulates more points at the United Cup than Anisimova does at the 2026 Brisbane International.

Although the first WTA tournaments of 2026 have not yet been completed, the season starting earlier last year means the rankings have already been updated. That led to very bad news for Ons Jabeur.

The three-time Grand Slam runner-up plummeted 20 spots to No. 95, and it is inevitable that the Tunisian will fall outside the Top 100. Jabeur ended her 2025 season early before announcing she was pregnant a few weeks later.

Although the Tunisian plans to return sometime after the birth, and she will benefit from a protected ranking given to those on maternity leave when she does, her ranking in the meantime will keep falling.

Linda Noskova is at a career-high ranking of No. 12 after taking Clara Tauson's position. The young Czech had a really good 2025 season and will undoubtedly be targeting reaching the Top 10 in 2026.

Daria Kasatkina, who was in the Top 10 in the early stages of last season, is now No. 40 after slipping three more positions. She had a challenging 2025 and ended it early after finding the stress too much.