Sabalenka Extends No. 1 Lead, Ostapenko Rises, Rybakina Falls In WTA Rankings

Aryna Sabalenka's disappointing loss in the final of the 2025 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart did not stop her from building an even more formidable lead at the top of the WTA rankings.

The Belarusian led Iga Swiatek by over 3,000 points before the tournament in Germany, but the four-time French Open champion not winning last year's iteration meant it felt like a chance to close the gap.

Instead, Jelena Ostapenko defeated Swiatek for an incredible sixth consecutive time in the quarterfinal before playing an even better match to topple Sabalenka in the final and secure the title. 

Sabalenka's final loss was her fourth in Stuttgart. However, this year's run was an improvement over her 2024 quarterfinal performance, meaning she increased her overall points total to 10,768.

By contrast, Swiatek could not defend all her points from reaching last year's semifinal. The Pole is now on 7,383, almost 3,400 points behind her biggest rival, and the gap could widen even further in the next few weeks.

Swiatek has a vast number of points to defend from winning the 2024 editions of the Madrid Open, Italian Open, and French Open at Roland Garros. Sabalenka was the runner-up in Madrid and Rome, but there is still an opportunity for her to extend the lead.

There was one change to the Top 10. Elena Rybakina paid the price for taking the surprising decision not to defend her Stuttgart Open title, meaning she lost 500 points and dropped a place to No. 11.

Rybakina was replaced by Emma Navarro, who moved up one spot to No. 10. The American could have risen to No. 9 had she gone further than the round of 16 in Stuttgart, but she also lost to Ostapenko.

There were no other alterations to the Top 10. Jessica Pegula is No. 3, Coco Gauff is No. 4, Madison Keys is No. 5, Jasmine Paolini is No. 6, Mirra Andreeva is No. 7, Qinwen Zheng is No. 8, and Paula Badosa is No. 9.

Ostapenko jumped significantly after her superb title run. The Latvian moved six spots to No. 18. Although she would undoubtedly rise further if she keeps playing at the same level as fans saw in Stuttgart, Ostapenko is infamously inconsistent.

Elina Svitolina was the champion at the 2025 Rouen Open on Sunday, winning an outstanding 18th title. That was enough for the two-time Grand Slam semifinalist to move one place to No. 17.

Emma Raducanu fell two spots to No. 49 after choosing not to play last week. Andy Roddick questioned that decision and argued that the Briton should have tried to retain her momentum from reaching the quarterfinal of the 2025 Miami Open.

Marta Kostyuk, last year's runner-up at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, and Marketa Vondrousova, a semifinalist in 2024, dropped significantly because they were unable to play this year. Kostyuk fell 11 positions to No. 36 and Vondrousova 15 to No. 63.

Sloane Stephens' ranking change was the most shocking of the week. The 2017 US Open champion, currently injured, plummeted 143 places after not being able to defend her 2024 Rouen Open title and sits at a lowly No. 301.

Katie Volynets moving up 10 spots to No. 70 after reaching the final of the WTA 125K in Oeiras and Mayar Sherif re-entering the Top 50 after winning a W100 tournament in Madrid were among the other alterations in the WTA rankings.