Sabalenka Remains at No. 1, Keys, Rybakina, & Badosa Rise In WTA Rankings
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Aryna Sabalenka's disappointing loss in the Australian Open final did not result in her losing the world No. 1 spot. The latest rankings were also very good news for Madison Keys, the champion in Melbourne.
Sabalenka was defending a massive 2,000 points before the tournament began, which meant Iga Swiatek had a mathematical chance of overtaking her at the end of the season's opening Grand Slam.
However, that possibility ended when Keys defeated Swiatek in a thrilling semifinal. The Pole held a match point at 6-5, 40-30 up in the third set, but eventually lost 8-10 in the deciding 10-point tiebreak.
Swiatek's loss meant Sabalenka was guaranteed to finish as the world No. 1 regardless of how the final ended. Keys overcame the two-time defending champion 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 after an outstanding display of powerful hitting.
Unfortunately, retaining the No. 1 ranking did not make the loss any easier to accept for Sabalenka. The Belarusian smashed her racket and stormed off the court before returning for the trophy ceremony.
Keys' first Grand Slam title has boosted her ranking seven places to No. 7. That is the American's joint-highest ranking, and she could achieve a career-high in the coming months.
The 29-year-old is just 181 points behind Jessica Pegula at No. 6. Keys defeated her compatriot in the Adelaide International final before the Australian Open and is breathing down Pegula's neck.
Elena Rybakina is at No. 5, two places higher than when the rankings were last updated. The 2022 Wimbledon champion reached the fourth round of the Australian Open but lost to Keys in three sets.
Reaching that stage in Melbourne was a decent effort from Rybakina, considering the uncertainty surrounding her team before and during the tournament after she announced her intention to bring back controversial former coach Stefano Vukov.
Goran Ivanisevic, who replaced Vukov during the off-season, split with Rybakina after her exit from the Australian Open. While he did not say it directly, it seems clear that the Kazakhstani wanting to add Vukov to the team played a role in his decision.
Although Rybakina moved up to No. 5, she is just 213 points ahead of Keys at No. 7. She has many points to defend in the next few months from title wins in Abu Dhabi and Stuttgart and finishing as the runner-up at the Miami Open.
Paula Badosa's impressive semifinal run saw her re-enter the Top 10. The Spaniard defeated the world No. 3 Coco Gauff in the quarterfinal, but Sabalenka's blistering hitting from the baseline proved too much.
Last year's Australian Open runner-up Qinwen Zheng fell three places to No. 8 after her shock first-round exit to Laura Siegemund. The Olympic gold medalist struggled with an injury throughout that match.
Jasmine Paolini, at No. 4, and Emma Navarro, at No. 9, are the other Top 10 players. Wimbledon champions Barbora Krejcikova and Daria Kasatkina dropped out of the Top 10 and were replaced by Keys and Badosa.
Other notable WTA ranking changes include Donna Vekic and Yulia Putntseva reaching career highs of No. 17 and No. 20, Marta Kostyuk falling outside the Top 20, and former US Open champion Sloane Stephens plummeting outside the Top 100.
