A number of former Top 65 players have already made ranking resurgences in the first two months of the 2020 season. Here are five players who, for various reasons, slid down the rankings, but are approaching getting back to their previous heights.
Oceane Dodin (FRA) (Official Year-End Ranking: 192 || Current Ranking: 116)
In 2016, the Frenchwoman won her first WTA singles title in Quebec City at 19 years old, and the following year she hit a career-high ranking of World No.46. But health issues plagued the hard-hitting youngster over the last few years, and she saw her ranking dip during the chunks of 2018 and 2019 she missed, falling outside the Top 500 in June of last year.
After strong Challenger results upon her return late last year, though, Dodin was back on track for 2020. The 23-year-old notched the second Top 20 win of her career over Johanna Konta to reach the St. Petersburg quarterfinals, earning consecutive Tour-level wins for the first time since 2017. She reached a second WTA quarterfinal in Lyon before falling to eventual champion Sofia Kenin.
Anna-Lena Friedsam (GER) (Official Year-End Ranking: 145 || Current Ranking: 106)
The German reached her maiden WTA singles final at Linz in 2015, and the next season also held milestones, as she made the fourth round of the Australian Open and hit a career-high ranking of World No.45 in 2016. However, she spent most of the next three years outside the Top 300 due to recovery from a continuing shoulder injury.
In 2020, though, the 26-year-old has already come close to her Top 100 return. Friedsam upset No.2 seed Kristina Mladenovic in the Lyon second round, then ousted Viktoria Kuzmova in the quarterfinals -- the first time she had won three consecutive Tour-level matches since the 2016 Australian Open. She went on to make her second WTA singles final, where she lost to Sofia Kenin in a close three-setter.
Olga Govortsova (BLR) (Official Year-End Ranking: 194 || Current Ranking: 135)
12 years ago, the Belarusian reached her first-ever WTA singles final in Memphis and a career-high ranking of No.35. Govortsova went on to make three more WTA singles finals and the fourth round of 2015 Wimbledon. Govortsova then took nearly a year off during 2017 and 2018, giving birth to her son in February 2018.
In 2020, the 31-year-old has a 12-3 win-loss record at all levels. Govortsova stormed to the Lexington, USA Challenger title in February without the loss of a set. She followed up by qualifying for Monterrey, before succumbing to top seed and eventual champion Elina Svitolina.
"In April and May I was losing at 25K tournaments and thinking of quitting," she said at US Open qualifying last year. "I started doing well in the summer, so hopefully I can continue."
Shelby Rogers (USA) (Official Year-End Ranking: 174 || Current Ranking: 113)
In 2016, the American zipped to the Roland Garros quarterfinals and reached the singles final at Rio de Janeiro, allowing her to hit a career-high ranking of World No.48 in 2017. However, during 2018 and 2019, the powerful player missed 13 months due to a knee injury sustained at the 2018 BNP Paribas Open.
This year, though, she has already seen her ranking rise 61 spots. After reaching the second round at Shenzhen, where she lost to Garbine Muguruza, she qualified for the Australian Open -- where she drew Muguruza again, and led the eventual finalist by a set in the opening round. Rogers would go on to win the Challenger event in Midland, USA, in February, without dropping a set.
Arantxa Rus (NED) (Official Year-End Ranking: 103 || Current Ranking: 70)
The Dutchwoman reached the fourth round of Roland Garros in 2012 en route to a career-high ranking of World No.61 later that season. Between 2014 and 2018, though, the left-hander was never able to obtain a double-digit ranking, being placed between No.100 and No.300 for that entire stretch.
However, after a stellar Challenger run in 2019, Rus is now close to matching her career-best ranking. Following a second-round showing at this year's Australian Open, the 29-year-old reached a WTA singles semifinal for the first time at Monterrey, having been 0-6 in previous WTA quarterfinals.
