Ranking Rockets: 2017's Biggest Movers

Check out the 15 players in the 2017 year-end rankings who improved their position by the greatest amount since their 2016 year-end placement.

01 /15
Marketa Vondrousova (+309, 376 to 67): The 18-year-old Czech started at the very bottom, in a $15k ITF event in Stüttgart - and now she's here, having compiled a 60-18 record that included her first WTA title in Biel (Getty)
02 /15
Ashleigh Barty (+308, 325 to 17): The Australian's return from a two-year hiatus saw her smash through milestones: a first Slam third round in Melbourne, a maiden title in Kuala Lumpur in March and a debut Premier final in Birmingham (Getty)
03 /15
Dr Mihaela Buzarnescu (+305, 377 to 72): The 29-year-old Romanian, a six-time ITF champion in 2017, became the oldest Top 100 debutante in 10 years after making the Linz semifinals - and the only Top 100 player with a PhD to boot (Getty)
04 /15
Petra Martic (+177, 266 to 89): The Croat only returned from a 10-month layoff due a back injury in April, by which time her ranking had fallen to 662 - but fourth-round showings as a qualifier at Roland Garros and Wimbledon rocketed her back up (Getty)
05 /15
Beatriz Haddad Maia (+146, 211 to 65): A sterling clay season including a Prague quarterfinal and Slam debut at Roland Garros saw the 21-year-old Brazilian into the Top 100, and she backed it up with her first WTA final in Seoul in September (Getty)
06 /15
Magdalena Rybarikova (+136, 156 to 20): Wrist and knee surgeries saw the Slovak fall to No.453 after a seven-month layoff - but her return was a revelation, storming to four ITF titles before a run to the Wimbledon SFs and a Top 20 debut (Getty)
07 /15
Mona Barthel (+135, 183 to 48): Beset by injuries in 2016, the German started the year by making her debut in week two of a Slam in Melbourne, and followed it with her fourth WTA title in Prague in April (Getty)
08 /15
Natalia Vikhlyantseva (+107, 161 to 54): Two Premier semifinals at home, in St Petersburg and Moscow, bookended the 20-year-old Russian's year - and in between, she made her first final in 's-Hertogenbosch (Getty)
09 /15
Ons Jabeur (+105, 193 to 88): The Tunisian made history at Roland Garros by becoming the first Arab woman to make the third round of a Slam - backing up her 2011 girls' title in Paris (Getty)
10 /15
Jana Fett (+98, 196 to 98): The 21-year-old Croat, who spent most of 2016 on the sidelines, had fallen to No.340 in January - but swiftly rectified that with a WTA semifinal in Hobart as a qualifier, a feat she would repeat in Tokyo in September (Getty)
11 /15
Aleksandra Krunic (+92, 147 to 55): The Serb returned to the Top 100 for the first time since 2015 thanks to a stellar second half that included the Bol 125K title, the final in Guangzhou and the US Open third round (Getty)
12 /15
Elise Mertens (+85, 120 to 35): The Belgian was a shock champion as a qualifier in Hobart in January - and went on to reach another final in Budapest, three further semifinals and the third round at Roland Garros in her debut WTA season (Getty)
13 /15
Peng Shuai (+82, 109 to 27): Having won her maiden title on her return from spine surgery in 2016, the Chinese player restablished herself at the top of the game in 2016 with a second trophy in Nanchang and a 42-24 record overall (Getty)
14 /15
Zarina Diyas (+82, 148 to 66): Wrist surgery had sidelined the Kazakh for seven months, but strong ITF performances and a third round at Wimbledon set her up for a return to the Top 100 when she won her maiden title in Tokyo in September (Getty)
15 /15
Aryna Sabalenka (+81, 159 to 78): A run to the Tianjin final saw the 19-year-old Belarusian crack the Top 100 - but her finest performances came in Fed Cup, helping her country upset the odds to make this weekend's final against the USA (Getty)

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