WTA Race to Riyadh after Italian Open: Big gains for Aryna Sabalenka, Naomi Osaka as Elena Rybakina slips
Aryna Sabalenka fell short in the 2024 Italian Open final against Iga Swiatek, but still managed to move ahead of Elena Rybakina in the WTA Race to Riyadh rankings. Naomi Osaka, who made her first fourth-round appearance in Rome, also made big gains in the ladder.
Sabalenka was contesting her second consecutive final against Swiatek at the Italian Open, having lost a three-set thriller in the Madrid Open earlier this month. She came up short again, losing 6-2, 6-3, but still managed to add a valuable 650 points to her tally.
Sabalenka now finds herself at No. 2 in the rankings with 3,928 points. She dislodged Ryabkina, who is third with 3,583 points. Swiatek, thanks to back-to-back WTA 1000 titles, cemented her position atop the ladder with 5,335 points.
Osaka, meanwhile, was one of the biggest movers in the WTA Race to Riyadh rankings, climbing nine spots courtesy her run at the Italian Open. She is now ranked 37th with 544 points.
Another player on a comeback from maternity leave, Angelique Kerber, also made it to the fourth round at the Italian Open. She also climbed 16 spots in the ladder and is now ranked 78th with 322 points.
Rebeka Sramkova and Aliaksandra Sansnovich were among the big movers as well, climbing 20-plus spots in the Race to Riyadh rankings. Sramkova leapfrogged 28 players to be placed at No. 87, while Sasnovich jumped 29 spots to move to 97th.
Italian Open semifinalist Danielle Collins, like Aryna Sabalenka, racks up points in WTA Race to Riyadh
Danielle Collins made the semifinals at the Italian Open before being ousted by Aryna Sabalenka 7-5, 6-2. She nonetheless added 390 points to her tally to find herself placed at No. 4 in the WTA Race to Riyadh rankings. Collins' compatriot, Coco Gauff, follows her in the ladder at No. 5 with 2,383 points to her name.
Qinwen Zheng (2,070 points), Jelena Ostapenko (1,889 points) and Jasmine Paolini (1,710 points) round out the top 8 of the WTA Race to Riyadh rankings.
Marta Kostyuk and Maria Sakkari als find themselves in contention for the top-8 cut-off. The duo are placed at No. 9 and No. 10 with 1,695 and 1,591 points respectively.