In the final week of the Hologic WTA Tour grass-court events leading into Wimbledon, the tour headed to the British coast for the Rothesay International Eastbourne, a WTA 500 tournament that has been staged since 1974, and Germany for the second edition of the Bad Homburg Open, a WTA 250 tournament.
Grass success gives Kvitova a boost
Petra Kvitova won the title in Eastbourne to complete the grass-court trifecta, adding to her collection that already includes two titles at Birmingham (2017, 2018) and two Wimbledon titles (2011, 2014). She joins Martina Navratilova as the only player to win at least one title at all three tournaments.
The Eastbourne title pushes Kvitova’s career total to 29 titles, tied for 19th most all-time on tour along with Arantxa Sanchez Vicario. Since capturing her first title in 2009, only Serena Williams (41) has won more titles than Kvitova (29).
With her most recent success, Kvitova moves up five spots in this week’s rankings climbing from No.31 to No.26.
Garcia climbs after ending three-year title drought
Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia stayed perfect in grass-court championship matches as she captured her third title on the surface in as many finals appearances. Having previously won at 2016 Mallorca and 2019 Nottingham, Garcia improved to 3-0 in grass-court finals after winning Bad Homburg.
As a result, Garcia jumps 20 spots in this week’s WTA Rankings, moving from No.75 to No.55.
Jabeur hits new career high
Ons Jabeur rises one spot to a new career-high ranking. With Anett Kontaveit’s 305 ranking points from Eastbourne 2021 dropping off this week, Jabeur slides into the No.2 spot in this week’s rankings for the first time in her career.
Dart, Swan, and Burrage enjoy British bumps
Harriet Dart capitalized on opportunities on the grass courts to reach a new career high. After reaching the quarterfinals in Nottingham and the second round in Birmingham, the 25-year-old made the most of her wildcard at Eastbourne, advancing to the quarterfinals of the WTA 500 event. Dart, who made her Top 100 debut earlier this year, moves up nine spots this week to reach a career-high No.94.
By reaching the second round in Bad Homburg as a qualifier, Katie Swan jumps up 39 spots to No.184.
Jodie Burrage won back-to-back matches in Eastbourne to advance to the third round. As a result, the 23-year-old moves up 28 spots to a career-high ranking of No.141 this week.
Other notable rankings movement:
- Bianca Andreescu: As runner-up in Bad Homburg, Andreescu collects 180 ranking points helping her climb eight spots in this week’s rankings from No.64 to No.56.
- Donna Vekic: For the second consecutive week, Vekic earned a main draw spot via qualifying. After reaching the quarterfinals in Birmingham, Vekic reached the second round in Eastbourne. After winning seven of her last nine matches, Vekic moves up to No.82 in this week’s rankings, up 11 spots from last week.
- Kirsten Flipkens: After starting the grass-court season ranked No.308, Flipkens reached the quarterfinals in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and followed that up by advancing to the third round as a qualifier in Eastbourne. This week, Flipkens jumps 67 spots as she returns to the Top 200 at No.190. The Belgian announced Wimbledon would be her final singles tournament.
