Aryna Sabalenka dethrones Iga Swiatek to reclaim World No. 1 spot in latest WTA rankings

Back at the top, Aryna Sabalenka ended Swiatek’s 50-week unbroken stint as World No. 1.

Aryna Sabalenka has risen to No. #1 in the WTA rankings ahead of the WTA Finals, nudging Iga Swiatek to second position. The Pole went past Ash Barty’s 121 in September, climbing to seventh on the all-time list at 122 weeks. 

Swiatek had completed her 125th week as WTA No. #1 when she was dethroned by Sabalenka in the latest WTA rankings came out on Monday, October 21st. The 2024 French Open winner spent 75 weeks at the top between April 2022 and September 2023, followed by another 50 weeks between November 2023 and October 2024.

LET HER COOK pic.twitter.com/FId6ghzeig

— wta (@WTA) October 21, 2024

Even though neither Iga Swiatek nor Aryna Sabalenka were in action the previous week, the shuffle in the rankings based on mandatory WTA 500 event commitments. Swiatek has played two WTA 500 events this year, while Sabalenka has turned up for four out of the mandatory six. With only the WTA 500 event at Tokyo left on the calendar this year, the impact shows for both Swiatek and Sabalenka.

The Belarusian is the only woman to win multiple Grand Slam titles this year after sweeping the Australian Open and the US Open titles, both hard-court events. She is spending her ninth week as the No. #1, including the eight weeks she spent at the top spot towards the end of the 2023 season.

Also Read: How many titles has Aryna Sabalenka won this year?

Yet only 41 points separate the two, with Sabalenka on 9706 points and Swiatek on 9665 points. The tussle for year-ending No. #1 promises to go down to the wire and will continue to play out at the fast-approaching WTA Finals in Riyadh. Swiatek will be defending his 2023 WTA Finals crown at the inaugural Riyadh edition.

Movers of the week

After the revised weekly rankings out this Monday, there has been a significant shuffling of the order in the WTA top 25. Daria Kasatkina moves back into the top 10 from No. #11 to No. #9 after defeating Mirra Andreeva in the Ningbo Open finals.

Danielle Collins now finds herself at No. #11, while Andreeva, too, climbed two spots to No. #17. Paula Badosa is one spot up to No. #14, while Jelena Ostapenko (15), Marta Kostyuk (18) and Donna Vekic (19) have all fallen by one position each to their current ranking.

The mover of the week in the top 25 is Karolina Muchova. The Czech player has jumped five spots, leapfrogging Linda Noskova and Elina Svitolina by reaching the semifinals at Ningbo. Re-entry into the top 25 took place a fortnight after Muchova made the title round at the WTA 1000 China Open.

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