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WTA rankings update: Ashleigh Barty begins 120th week as World No. 1, Swiatek and Sakkari make top-3 debuts

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Ashleigh Barty poses as she visits Uluru in the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park
Ashleigh Barty poses as she visits Uluru in the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park

Ashleigh Barty began her 113th consecutive week, and 120th overall, at the top of the WTA rankings on Monday. In the process, the 25-year-old tied American legend Chris Evert for the fourth-longest consecutive reign at No. 1 in women's tennis.

Only three women have been ranked No. 1 in the WTA rankings for a longer uninterrupted stretch than Barty; Steffi Graf (186 weeks), Serena Williams (186 weeks) and Martina Navratilova (156 weeks). Barty, who pulled out of the Indian Wells and Miami WTA 1000 events, is expected to return to the tour only in April.

She continues to have a lead of over 2,200 ranking points over her closest rival. But the three-time Grand Slam champion's decision to skip Miami, which she won last year, will see the gap reduce considerably.

Respect 🤗

@iga_swiatek x @mariasakkari

#IndianWells https://t.co/qOPmJZzLKT

A serious challenger to Barty's throne is Poland's Iga Swiatek, who won her 11th consecutive match on Sunday against Maria Sakkari to lift the Indian Wells title. Swiatek, whose 20 wins are the most by any player on the WTA tour this season, jumped two positions to reach a new career-high ranking of No. 2.

Sakkari, who reached the biggest final of her career at Indian Wells, also reached a new career-high in the WTA rankings, climbing three positions to No. 3. Swiatek and Sakkari's jumps meant reigning French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova and Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka dropped two positions each to No. 4 and No. 5 respectively.

The WTA rankings for the week of March 21, 2022 are as follows:

  1. Ashleigh Barty
  2. Iga Swiatek (+2)
  3. Maria Sakkari (+3)
  4. Barbora Krejcikova (-2)
  5. Aryna Sabalenka (-2)
  6. Paula Badosa (+1)
  7. Anett Kontaveit (-1)
  8. Karolina Pliskova
  9. Garbine Muguruza
  10. Ons Jabeur

Former World No. 1 Simona Halep returns to top 20 in the WTA rankings

Simona Halep during her semi-final match at the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden
Simona Halep during her semi-final match at the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden

Outside the top 10, Indian Wells quarterfinalist Elena Rybakina jumped two spots to No. 18 in the WTA rankings while former World No. 1 Simona Halep climbed seven rungs to return to the top 20 at No. 19.

Harriet Dart made the biggest jump in the top 100, climbing 23 spots to No. 99 after qualifying and reaching the fourth round at Indian Wells. Petra Martic also made a big move, climbing 21 positions to No. 58 after reaching the Indian Wells quarterfinals.

The Williams sisters continue to rank outside the top 200 due to their inactivity on the WTA tour. 23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams is at No. 240 this week while seven-time Major champion Venus Williams, who recently said she will return to the tour, is at No. 466.

New career highs on WTA Top 100

2. Swiatek
3. Sakkari
23. Kudermetova
30. Samsonova
34. Osório
72. Zheng Q.
80. Juvan
84. Kalinskaya
99. Dart (top 100 debut)

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