Aryna Sabalenka remains at No. 1 in the latest WTA rankings, but her results in this week's WTA Finals will determine if she will stay there for an extended period.
Sabalenka overtook Iga Swiatek at No. 1 two weeks ago in controversial fashion when both women were penalized for not playing at least six WTA 500 tournaments throughout 2024.
Swiatek and Sabalenka were penalized by having the points from their lowest-earning points removed. The 120 points Swiatek lost for reaching the fourth round of the Miami Open led to Sabalenka overtaking her.
Sabalenka extended her lead last week after Swiatek dropped the 1500 points she earned from winning last year's WTA Finals and because the Pole had another 195 points removed due to the same WTA rule about playing in at least six 500-level events.
That put the US Open champion more than 1000 points ahead of her rival, and there was no change in either woman's ranking points this week. Sabalenka will finish as the year-end No. 1 if she wins her three round-robin matches at the ongoing WTA Finals.
Swiatek kept her slim hopes of overtaking Sabalenka as the year-end No. 1 alive with an impressive comeback against Barbora Krejcikova. It was the Pole's first match with new coach Wim Fissette.
There were no changes to the Top 10 this week. Coco Gauff is the current No. 3, Jasmine Paolini is No. 4, Elena Rybakina is No. 5, and Jessica Pegula is No. 6. Qinwen Zheng, Emma Navarro, Daria Kasatkina, and Danielle Collins are the other players in the Top 10.
Coco Gauff boosted her hopes of finishing as the year-end world No. 3 and the American No. 1 after beating Jessica Pegula in her opening match at the WTA Finals. She produced an outstanding performance to prevail in straight sets.
Paula Badosa moved up a spot to No. 11 despite not playing last week. That continues her rapid rise up the rankings this year after several injury issues in the previous 12 months.
Diana Shnaider is now at a career-high ranking of No. 12 after moving up two spots. The 20-year-old won her fourth title of the season last week at the Hong Kong Open to complete a breakthrough season.
Shnaider's opponent in the final in Hong Kong, Katie Boulter, is also at a career-high ranking. She rose six spots to No. 23 for her efforts at the tournament. The Briton won the San Diego Open and the Nottingham Open earlier this season.
Anna Kalinskaya was at a career-best ranking of No. 11 last week. However, this year's Dubai Championships runner-up dropped back to No. 14 after electing not to play last week and prepare for the 2025 season instead.
Rebecca Sramkova continued her incredible end to the season by entering the Top 50 at No. 43. She was the runner-up to Viktorija Golubic at the Jiangxi Open last week, who rose 63 places to No. 105 after her title run in China.
Other WTA ranking changes this week include Zeynep Sonmez entering the Top 100 after winning the title in Merida and former French Open runner-up Sara Errani, playing doubles with Jasmine Paolini at the WTA Finals, falling outside the Top 100.