How many WTA ranking points will Iga Swiatek, Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff and rest of Top-10 be defending in January 2023?
WTA World No. 1 Iga Swiatek, Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff will all look to start the 2023 season in the best way possible. Swiatek and Pegula will both kickstart their respective campaigns at the United Cup, while Gauff will get her year underway at the ASB Classic in Auckland.
With a total of five tournaments taking place before the Australian Open, we can expect some ranking changes at the top of the women's game in January 2023.
On that note, let’s take a look at how many points each member of the WTA Top-10 will be defending in January 2023.
Iga Swiatek will be defending 965 points, while Jessica Pegula has 432 points to defend
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek will be defending 965 points in January 2023, which is more than any other player in the Top-10 of the WTA rankings. The Pole earned 780 points by reaching the semifinals of last year's Australian Open while the other 185 came at the Adelaide International 1 where she also reached the semifinals.
Jessica Pegula will be defending 432 points in January 2023, 430 of which came at the Australian Open where she reached the quarterfinals. The American suffered opening-round exits at the Melbourne Summer Set 2 and the Sydney International.
Coco Gauff and Ons Jabeur have just 175 and 100 points to defend, respectively
Coco Gauff will be defending a meager 175 points in January 2023. The American won most of her points (110) last January at the Adelaide International 2 where she reached the semifinals. She also claimed 55 points at the Adelaide International 1 and 10 points at the Australian Open.
Ons Jabeur will only be defending 100 points in January 2023, which is the least among all Top-10 WTA players. The Tunisian earned all of her points at the 2022 Sydney International where she reached the quarterfinals.
How many points will rest of WTA top 10 defend in January?
Caroline Garcia will be defending a paltry 111 points in January 2023. The Frenchwoman earned most of her points from the 2022 Sydney International, where she reached the quarterfinals. She suffered opening-round exits at this year's Australian Open and Melbourne Summer Set 2.
Aryna Sabalenka will be defending 242 points in January 2023, 240 of which came from the 2022 Australian Open where she reached the fourth round before losing to Kaia Kanepi. The Belarusian lost her opening matches at the Adelaide International 1 and the Adelaide International 2 this year.
Maria Sakkari, who also suffered a fourth-round exit at the 2022 Australian Open, will be defending 295 points in January 2023. She won the remainder of her points at the Adelaide International 1, where she lost in the second round.
Daria Kasatkina will be defending 425 points in January 2023. She garnered 295 points by reaching the semifinals of this year's Sydney International (185) and Melbourne Summer Set (110). The Russian also won 130 points at the 2022 Australian Open, where she lost in the third round.
Veronika Kudermetova will be defending 310 points in January 2023, 180 of which came at the Melbourne Summer Set 2 where she reached the final. She also clinched 130 points by making it to the third round of the Australian Open.
Simona Halep won 520 points in January 2022 by winning the Melbourne Summer Set 1 and by reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open. However, the current World No. 10 will not be able to defend them in 2023 as she is suspended after failing a drug test.