WTA Rankings update: Iga Swiatek enters 100th week as World No. 1, Marta Kostyuk inches closer to the top 20 with another career high
Iga Swiatek continues her reign at the helm of women's tennis as she embarks on her 100th week atop the rankings, becoming just the fifth youngest player to do so at 22 years and 326 days.
Swiatek continues her dominance at the top despite her semifinal exit at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix last week. Heading into the event as a two-time defending champion, her attempt at a three-peat was halted by eventual champion Elena Rybakina. The Kazakh plowed through a grueling three-setter to claim a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 win.
The Pole's loss resulted in her dropping 305 points in the WTA rankings. Despite that, she still sits comfortably in first place with a whopping 10,560 points.
Her spot doesn't look like it's in too much danger considering the clay court swing is going on. Swiatek excels on the red dirt and has often admitted that it is her favored surface.
Aryna Sabalenka sits in the second spot with 7,848 points, trailing Swiatek by roughly 3,000 points. Sabalenka also dropped points last week, failing to defend her runner-up points in Stuttgart. She was beaten by Marketa Vondrousova in the quarter-finals.
Coco Gauff remains in third spot with 7,258 points. With Sabalenka having to defend her winner's points in Madrid, the corridor is open for Gauff to possibly leapfrog into second spot.
Elena Rybakina also stays in the fourth spot despite her title run in Stuttgart. She currently sits with 6,293 points and has further widened the gap (roughly 1,500 points) between the top four and the rest of the playing field.
Pegula who hasn't been seen in action since the Charleston Open, stays in fifth spot with 4,870 points. She withdrew from the Stuttgart Open due to poor scheduling and announced recently that she wouldn't be competing in Madrid either.
Maria Sakkari, who also took a break after the Charleston Open, remains in sixth spot with 4,195 points.
Marketa Vondrousova and Zheng Qinwen traded spots at 7 and 8. Vondrousova had a great week in Stuttgart where she reached the last four. She beat the likes of Donna Vekic, Anastasia Potapova, and Aryna Sabalenka, before succumbing to Marta Kostyuk. Vondrousova edges Zheng by just 90 points, with a total of 4090 points.
Ons Jabeur and Jelena Ostapenko complete the top 10, with 3533 and 3438 points respectively.
Marta Kostyuk sets new career high while Sloane Stephens continues to soar in the WTA rankings
Marta Kostyuk continued her impressive run on the WTA Tour this year with an emphatic run to the finals at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart last week. Her exploits guaranteed another career high, with her jumping to the 21st spot with 2,235 points.
Sloane Stephens, who won the Roune Open last week, jumped six spots in the rankings from 39 to 33. She currently sits with 1,625 points.
Elsewhere, Jasmine Paolini and Beatriz Haddad Maia also exchanged spots at 13 and 14. Emma Navarro dropped two spots to No. 23, while Caroline Garcia dropped one spot to No. 24. Elise Mertens and Sorana Cristea also traded spots at 29 and 30.
Magda Linette's run to the final in Roune helped her jump twelve places and break into the top 50. She currently sits in the 48th spot with 1218 points.
Arantxa Rus also broke into the top 50, jumping six positions to the 47th spot with 1222 points.