Rankings Watch: Swiatek back in Top 4, Joint cracks Top 50
In the third week of pre-Wimbledon grass-court events on the Hologic WTA Tour, some order returned.
The first two WTA 500 tournaments of the swing went to players ranked outside the Top 80 -- Tatjana Maria at Queen's and Marketa Vondrousova in Berlin. But last week, top seed Jessica Pegula came through in Bad Homburg to win her ninth career title, and her second on grass. The World No. 3 has now won three tournaments in a single season for the first time, adding Bad Homburg to her trophies from Austin and Charleston.
Former World No. 1 Iga Swiatek is building momentum after reaching her first grass-court final in Bad Homburg. It marked her first title match in 13 months, dating back to her 2024 Roland Garros win, and included her first Top 10 victory on grass with a semifinal win over Jasmine Paolini. Swiatek rises from No. 8 to No. 4 in this week’s ranking.
Joint, Eala give Eastbourne a glimpse of youthful future
Eastbourne featured the youngest WTA final since 1981, with 19-year-old Maya Joint edging 20-year-old Alexandra Eala in a tense third-set tiebreak after saving four championship points. It’s Joint’s second title in six weeks, adding to her Rabat trophy just before Roland Garros. The Australian breaks into the Top 50 for the first time, climbing from No. 51 to No. 41 -- a year ago, she was ranked No. 168.
Eala, the first Filipina to reach a WTA final, also hits a new career high. Her Eastbourne run as a qualifier was her first string of back-to-back tour-level wins since her Miami semifinal in March, and she rises from No. 74 to No. 56. A year ago, she stood at No. 162.
Other notable rankings movements
Amanda Anisimova, +1 to No. 12: The Doha champion was not in action last week but inches up one place to a new career high.
Linda Noskova, +3 to No. 27: Noskova reached her second WTA 500 semifinal of 2025 last week in Bad Homburg and is two places off her career high of No. 25.
McCartney Kessler, +2 to No. 30: Nottingham champion Kessler was also inactive last week but nonetheless breaks the Top 30 for the first time.
Victoria Azarenka, +18 to No. 87: Last week, Azarenka dropped out of the Top 100 for the first time since July 2018, and in Bad Homburg the former World No. 1 competed in a qualifying draw for the first time since Indian Wells 2007. She came through to the main draw and made the second round, and makes an immediate return to the Top 100.
Varvara Gracheva, +19 to No. 92: Gracheva, who dropped out of the Top 100 three weeks ago, reached the Eastbourne semifinals as a qualifier to bounce back into it. The result was the Frenchwoman's first tour-level semifinal since Austin 2023.
Clervie Ngounoue, +29 to No. 195: Last week, the 18-year-old American won her third ITF W50 title in the past year in Palma del Rio. Ngounoue, the 2023 Wimbledon junior champion, breaks the Top 200 for the first time.
Zarina Diyas, +28 to No. 246: Former No. 31 Diyas claimed her second ITF title of the year two weeks ago at the Tauste ITF W35. The 31-year-old Kazakh is back in the Top 250 for the first time since August 2022.
Fiona Crawley, +93 to No. 412: The 23-year-old American, a former No. 1-ranked college player, is on a 10-match winning streak after winning consecutive ITF W35 titles in Decatur and Wichita this month.
Lani Chang, UNR to No. 1181: The 14-year-old American, the daughter of former No. 241 Amber Liu and former ATP No. 2 Michael Chang, enters the rankings this week after compiling a 7-3 record in her first three pro tournaments over the past two months. Chang, who made the Orlando ITF W15 semifinals on her pro debut in May, is now the youngest player to currently hold a WTA ranking.
