World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka maintained her 1,071-point gap over second-placed Iga Swiatek, kicking off her second week atop the WTA standings.
Sabalenka and Swiatek were not in action this past week, as were a number of Top 10 players who preferred to take some time off from the rigors of competition after the 2023 US Open. Nonetheless, there were two significant changes in the world's Top 10.
Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula swapped places in 4th and 5th, respectively. Rybakina dropped down after her runner-up points from Portoroz came off, allowing Pegula to overtake her. While Barbora Krejcikova re-entered the world's Top 10 (10th spot) after capturing the San Diego Open last weekend.
Krejcikova is one of three Czech players in the world's Top 10, along with Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova (6th) and French Open finalist Karolina Muchova (8th). She breaks that barrier once again after a tough summer in which she lost four matches on the spin.
Krejcikova's entrance is at the expense of Caroline Garcia, who drops to 11th spot. The vanquished finalist in San Diego was Sofia Kenin who made up 40 spots and sits on the cusp of the Top 50 door (53rd). Fellow American Emma Navarro makes her Top 50 debut after a run to the semis of the 500-level event on home soil.
Elsewhere, China's Lin Zhu who competed in the second of two WTA tournaments this past week, rises to a new career-high ranking of 31. The Chinese No. 2 was beaten as a finalist at the Japan Championships in Osaka.
The overall winner of the aforementioned 250 event in Japan was 19-year-old American Ashlyn Krueger, who joined the parade of first-time titlists on Tour. Krueger is rewarded with a Top 100 debut, climbing a jaw-dropping 50 staircases to a career-high mark of 73rd.
Spain's Marina Bassols captured the 125K event in Ljubljana, Slovenia on Sunday and rose 20 places to a personal-best ranking of 112, while the biggest fall from grace was that of 18-year-old Czech Linda Fruhvirtova who dropped from 68th to 117th, after a barren spell of eight matches without a win, and forfeiting her champion points from Chennai.
0 Comments