Rankings Watch: Liu, Andreescu back in Top 100; Eala up to new career high

The 2026 WTA 250 season concluded last week with the 21st and 22nd tournaments at that level on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz calendar, the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open and the Chennai Open.

Claire Liu captured her maiden title in Hong Kong without dropping a set, routing Alexandra Eala 6-3, 6-0 in the final to notch just the second Top 20 win of her career. The 26-year-old American -- a former junior No. 1, and the 2017 Wimbledon girls' champion -- had previously made one tour-level final, at Rabat 2022, and reached her career high of No. 52 in January 2023.

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Liu took a six-month mental health hiatus in 2024, and her ranking slipped to No. 435 in June 2025. Two months ago, she worked her way back into the Top 100 for the first time in over two-and-a-half years. Her Hong Kong title run consolidates that position: Liu climbs 33 places in the latest edition of the PIF WTA Rankings from No. 102 to No. 69, her highest position since September 2023.

Meanwhile, Eala inches up two places from No. 17 to a new career high of No. 15 after making her third career tour-level final.

In contrast to Liu's dominant run in Hong Kong, Magda Linette had to battle hard to claim her fourth career title in Chennai. The 34-year-old was taken to three sets in four of her five matches: she started the week by winning the longest WTA main-draw match of 2026 so far 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-2 over Aliona Falei, a 3-hour, 33-minute marathon. In the quarterfinals, she escaped Mai Hontama from a set and 5-3 down (then 4-2 down in the third set as well); in the final, she dethroned defending champion Janice Tjen 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 in 2 hours and 43 minutes, the joint-fourth longest final of the season.

Linette's reward is a 25-spot jump from No. 68 to No. 43, returning to the Top 50 for the first time since June. Tjen climbs 15 places from No. 75 to No. 60.

Shubladze, Rajeshwaran Revathi, Stojsavljevic among first-time WTA winners

Six players across Hong Kong and Chennai notched their first WTA main-draw wins last week:

• Alexandra Shubladze, who won her first WTA 125 title six weeks ago in Jingshan, qualified for her first WTA main draw in Hong Kong. The 21-year-old then defeated Liudmila Samsonova in the first round -- her first meeting with a Top 50 player -- then upset top seed Sorana Cirstea in the quarterfinals, the first time she had played a Top 20 opponent. Shubladze climbs nine places to a new career high of No. 127.
• On home soil in Chennai, Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi became the first Indian player to reach a WTA quarterfinal since Sania Mirza at Pattaya 2012. The 17-year-old makes her Top 500 debut this week, vaulting 180 places from No. 669 to No. 489.

• Another 17-year-old, Britain's Mika Stojsavljevic, defeated former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin to make the Hong Kong second round as a lucky loser. The 2024 US Open junior champion climbs 56 places from No. 411 to No. 355.
• Jeline Vandromme, Stojsavljevic's successor as US Open junior champion in 2025, made the Chennai second round on her tour-level debut. The 18-year-old Belgian slips two places to No. 128 this week.
• Indian No. 1 Vaishnavi Adkar jumps 36 places from No. 344 to a new career high of No. 308 after reaching the Chennai second round.
• Kazakhstan's Zhibek Kulambayeva qualified and made the Chennai second round, and leaps 92 places from No. 473 to No. 381.

Romero Gormaz, Lansere boosted by WTA 125 titles; Andreescu back in Top 100

Two WTA 125 tournaments took place last week -- on clay in Cali, Colombia and on outdoor hard courts in Luanda, Angola.

In Cali, Spain's Leyre Romero Gormaz captured her second career WTA 125 trophy, adding to her Foggia title in June. Romero Gormaz battled past Carole Monnet 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 in a 3-hour, 6-minute quarterfinal, then overcame Julia Riera 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 in a 2-hour, 45-minute semifinal. In the final, the 24-year-old ended Bianca Andreescu's 14-match winning streak 7-6(4), 6-3.

Romero Gormaz jumps 20 spots to a new career high of No. 111. Meanwhile, former No. 4 Andreescu -- who had won consecutive WTA 125 events in Rovereto and Queretaro going into Cali -- is up nine places to No. 100. The former US Open champion returns to the Top 100 for the first time since last June.

In Luanda, Sofya Lansere took home her first WTA 125 trophy following a title run in which the 26-year-old defeated the top three seeds in the last three rounds -- No. 3 Martyna Kubka 7-6(4), 7-5 in the quarterfinals, No. 2 Noma Noha Akugue 7-6(6), 6-2 in the semifinals then No. 1 Anna Blinkova 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 in the final. Lansere, who set her previous career high of No. 200 in December 2023, returns to the Top 200 and hits a new peak with a 71-place leap to No. 195.

Meanwhile, Blinkova inches up four spots to No. 101 and Luanda semifinalist Gina Feistel reaches a new career high of No. 275 after jumping 49 places.

Podrez, Swan, Rapolu extend World Tennis winning streaks

Three players are on 10-match winning streaks at World Tennis level after claiming their second consecutive titles last week:

• Ukraine's Veronika Podrez, who reached the Rouen final on her tour-level debut in April, has won back-to-back W75s in Poitiers and Pétange on indoor hard courts. The 19-year-old rises six spots to a new career high of No. 121.
• Former No. 118 Katie Swan backed up her Sydney W35 title with the trophy at last week's Incheon W100 -- the first of her career above W75 level. The 27-year-old Briton soars 57 places to No. 148.
• University of Texas alumna Malaika Rapolu has won back-to-back W50s on outdoor hard courts in Mexico, sweeping Morelia and Huamantla in consecutive weeks. The 23-year-old American is up another 10 spots to a new career high of No. 245.

Other notable rankings movements

Aliaksandra Sasnovich, +11 to No. 90: Former No. 29 Sasnovich reached the Hong Kong quarterfinals as a qualifier, capping a 16-6 record in a strong Asian Swing. The 32-year-old returns to the Top 100 for the first time since July 2025.

Robin Montgomery, +18 to No. 133: 's-Hertogenbosch champion Montgomery reached her third career tour-level semifinal in Chennai.

Anna Siskova, +16 to No. 154: The 25-year-old Czech is up to a new career high after reaching the Pétange W75 final.

Ku Yeonwoo, +15 to No. 166: On home soil in Incheon, the 23-year-old South Korean made her second W100 final of the year.

Lin Yu-Jun, +226 to No. 639: Junior No. 21 Lin, who made her WTA main-draw debut in Beijing as a wild card two months ago, won her first professional title as a qualifier at the Kunshan W35 two weeks ago. The Chinese 16-year-old rockets to a new career high.

Emery Combs, +241 to No. 905: The 15-year-old American became the second 2011-born player to win a professional title after claiming the Sumter W15 trophy two weeks ago. Combs is the second 2011-born player to reach the Top 1,000 following No. 764 Ekaterina Dotsenko.