By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Monday October 21, 2024
Aryna SabalenkaHis second stint at the top of the WTA rankings has come sooner than expected.
The WTA revealed on Monday that the three-time major champion has surpassed Iga Swiatek in the rankings, due to Swiatek being hit by “ongoing year-end adjustments to the lack of certain tournament quotas” and dropping 120 points from last week’s ranking total.
That means Sabalenka leads by 41 points and will begin her ninth week at No. 1, while Swiatek’s streak of 50 consecutive weeks at No. 1 ends with her total of 125 weeks as the WTA No. 1 player.
The pair will continue their battle for the year-end No. 1 at the WTA Finals in Riyadh, which begin on November 2. Sabalenka will have the advantage because Swiatek defends 1,500 points while Sabalenka will defend 625 for the semifinal loss in Cancun last year.
Sabalenka will take a lead of around 1,050 points into the WTA Finals, giving her a very good chance to end a season at No. 1 for the first time.
Other lifters
Daria Kasatkina, (+2 in no. 9): Kasatkina returns to the Top 10 for the first time since July 2023 after winning her eighth career title in Ningbo.
Mirra Andreeva, (+2 in no. 17): The 17-year-old lost to Kasatkina in the final of Ningbo, but still rises to another peak in his career.
Karolina Muchova, (+5 to no. 25): Muchova continues to move higher after a semi-final run in Ningbo. She is back in the Top-25 for the first time since last year’s US Open.
Clara Tauson, (+11 to no. 53): The dangerous Dane, still 21, returns to her highest ranking since August 2022.
