Coco Gauff had a phenomenal end of the 2024 season, and that was reflected also in the rankings, both the official WTA Rankings and alternative rankings.
After winning her first Grand Slam title at the US Open this year, the young American didn't have the type of season that she would have wished for in 2024. She struggled throughout the season, and after failing to defend her US Open trophy, Gauff parted ways with coach Brad Gilbert.
It was Gilbert who initially brought the winning spark to her team, as he led her to victories at the Cincinnati Open and the US Open, but Gauff felt like she needed change, and her feeling was correct.
She brought Matt Daly to her team, and immediately, she started seeing results. Since the two joined forces, it took some time before Gauff lost a match, as she won the first event she entered after starting to work with Daly, triumphing at the China Open in Beijing.
She then reached the Wuhan Open semi-finals but lost to Aryna Sabalenka. But only a couple of weeks later, she was able to get revenge for that loss at the 2024 WTA Finals.
The 20-year-old first defeated World No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the round-robin stage before eliminating World No. 1 Sabalenka in the semi-finals of the year-end championship.
In the final, Gauff outplayed Qinwen Zheng to win her maiden WTA Finals trophy. Thanks to the triumph, she pocketed nearly $5 million in prize money and 1,300 WTA ranking points.
Thanks to those ranking points, she cemented her position as the World No. 3 player in the year-end ranking, finishing the season with 6,530 points, which is 1,186 ahead of the fourth Jasmine Paolini and 1,840 behind second Swiatek.
In alternative rankings, Gauff's position looks even better. The Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) is a system that intends to paint a better picture of players' real ranking, adding and subtracting points based on who they play against.
In the latest edition of the UTR Rankings, Gauff is ahead of both Swiatek and Sabalenka, who she beat at the WTA Finals. The American player's UTR stands at 12.95, while both Swiatek and Sabalenka have 12.93. This is also ahead of Elena Rybakina, who has 12.91.
Still, the American player isn't the highest-ranked player in the UTR Rankings. Her final opponent from the WTA Finals, Qinwen Zheng, has the same rating, 12.95, but she is ranked ahead of Gauff, occupying the virtual World No. 1 spot, despite being only the World No. 5 player on the WTA Tour.
The UTR Rankings are unique as they can describe qualities of players who haven't played a lot in recent months due to injuries or different reasons, as the absence isn't reflected in any way, as opposed to the WTA Rankings, in which players would miss out on important points.
As a result, Paula Badosa is sixth in the UTR Rankings, Karolina Muchova is seventh, Mirra Andreeva is 10th, and Naomi Osaka is 12th. Emma Raducanu is also ranked much higher, as she currently occupies the 25th position.