Some of the highlights from this week's WTA rankings were another jump for Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek starting one of her final weeks at No. 1 before being overtaken.
Gauff came into the Asian swing having dropped from No. 2 earlier in the season down to No. 6 after she could not defend the points she won at last year's Cincinnati Open and US Open.
After those disappointments, the American parted ways with her coach, Brad Gilbert, and hired Matt Daly as his replacement. Daly is known for being an expert in grip changes, which some felt might help Gauff's forehand especially.
Their first tournament together was the China Open. The results were immediate: Gauff won the second WTA-1000 tournament of her career, overcoming Karolina Muchova in the final.
The 20-year-old's troublesome forehand was noticeably improved in Beijing and at last week's Wuhan Open, leading to her routinely dominating rallies with that shot and feeling more comfortable attacking with it.
Unfortunately for Gauff, her second-serve issues returned during the semifinal in Wuhan against Aryna Sabalenka. Last year's US Open champion admitted that the 21 double faults she hit cost her victory in that match.
However, reaching the semifinal was still enough for Gauff to rise from No. 4 to No. 3 in the latest rankings. She is also the new American No. 1 since it was her Olympic doubles partner Jessica Pegula she overtook.
In addition, Gauff was among four players to seal her spot in the year-end WTA Finals during the Wuhan Open, confirming a positive two weeks to start her relationship with Matt Daly for the American.
Swiatek remained at No. 1 in the new rankings. She currently holds 9,785 ranking points. Aryna Sabalenka is on 9,716 points after she defeated Qinwen Zheng to win the Wuhan Open title for the third time.
However, Sabalenka will become the new No. 1 when Swiatek drops the points she earned from winning the 2023 WTA Finals. The Pole is not playing any events until this year's WTA Finals, guaranteeing she will drop 1,500 points.
Sabalenka has said finishing the season as the year-end No. 1 is one of her goals. The Belarusian is not guaranteed to do that yet since Swiatek could overtake her at the WTA Finals next month.
Anna Kalinskaya lost in the round of 32 at last week's Wuhan Open, but she still rose to a career-high ranking of No. 12. This year's Dubai Championships runner-up will try and push for the Top 10 before the end of the season.
Kalinskaya might aim to overtake Beatriz Haddad Maia to achieve that goal. The Brazilian re-entered the Top 10 in the latest rankings but will drop the points she earned from winning last year's WTA Elite Trophy next week. Kalinskaya and Haddad Maia are playing at the Ningbo Open this week.
Other notable changes in the latest rankings are the Wuhan Open semifinalist Xinyu Wang jumping from No. 51 to No. 39, Leylah Fernandez falling from No. 28 to No. 34, and former US Open quarterfinalist Lesia Tsurenko falling outside the Top 100.
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