Last week, the WTA Tour hosted a WTA 1000 tournament in Cincinnati, in addition to a WTA 125 series event in Chicago. While the World No.1 Ashleigh Barty emerged victorious at the Western & Southern Open, a pair of teenagers, Clara Tauson and Emma Raducanu, battled in the final in Chicago.
Barty reaches 90 weeks at top
Barty’s reign atop the WTA Rankings continues. She enters her 83rd consecutive week and 90th overall atop the rankings, the ninth most all time. Barty will need to protect her No.1 ranking for another eight weeks to equal Lindsay Davenport’s 98 weeks at No.1 in order to move into eighth place.
Champions Corner: Barty cements her status as the top player
By winning the title in Cincinnati, Barty adds 900 ranking points and extends her lead at the top to 3,175 points ahead of World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka, who this week moved up to her career high.
Teenage success in Chicago
A pair of WTA teenagers advanced to the final at the WTA 125 series tournament staged in Chicago last week as Tauson topped Raducanu in a three-set championship match. As a result, the two 18-year-olds both achieved career-high rankings. Tauson jumped 24 spots from No.101 to No.77, while Raducanu moved from No.174 to No.150.
Western & Southern Open: Wear it like Barty
Cincinnati wildcard boosts ranking
Jil Teichmann, who reached a career-high ranking of No.40 earlier this year, advanced to the Cincinnati final last week. As a result, she jumps 32 ranking spots, climbing from No.76 to No.44. A wildcard into the main draw, the 24-year-old defeated three Top 12 ranked opponents in consecutive days -- No.2 Naomi Osaka (now No.3), No.12 Belinda Bencic and No.4 Karolina Pliskova, before falling to Barty.
READ: Champions Corner: Good vibes, sixth sense guide Stosur & Zhang to Cincinnati title
Other notable rankings movements
Within the Top 10, two players inch up one place to new career-highs. Aryna Sabalenka makes her debut at No.2, with Naomi Osaka falling to No.3. Cincinnati quarterfinalist Barbora Krejcikova rises to No.9, pushing Garbiñe Muguruza down to No.10.
Angelique Kerber returns to the Top 20 this week for the first time since February after reaching the semifinals in Cincinnati. The 33-year-old German moves from No.22 to No.17.
A quarterfinalist in Cincinnati, Spain’s Paula Badosa continues her climb up the rankings. She moves up three spots from No.29 to a career-best No.26.
After finishing last year ranked No.217, Claire Liu makes her Top 100 debut this week, moving up seven spots from No.107 to No.100. The 21-year-old American advanced to the semifinals of the WTA 125 series event in Chicago.
2020 Australian Open junior champion Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva reached her first professional final as a qualifier at the San Bartolome de Tirajana ITF W60 event last week. The 16-year-old Andorran scored an upset over Aleksandra Krunic in the quarterfinals before losing to Arantxa Rus in the final, and soars 169 places from No.575 to No.406. There is now no one younger than Jimenez Kasintseva ranked ahead of her.
In doubles, Cincinnati champions Zhang Shuai and Samantha Stosur made the biggest movement among the Top 100. Zhang moved up 19 spots in this week’s doubles rankings to No.27, while Stosur improved 41 spots to No.55.
