Photos: The Top 100 breakthroughs of 2022
Twenty players cracked the Top 100 for the first time in 2022, including Alycia Parks, Zheng Qinwen and Jule Niemeier.
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China's Zheng Qinwen, 19, cracked the Top 100 on Jan. 31 after a stellar Australian swing in which she reached her first WTA semifinal at Melbourne Summer Set 1 and the second round of the Australian Open as a qualifier in her Grand Slam debut.
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On Feb. 28, former junior No.1 Diane Parry became the first Top 100 debutante with a one-handed backhand since Viktorija Golubic in 2016. The 19-year-old Frenchwoman ended 2021 by capturing her biggest title at the Montevideo 125.
Abierto GNP Seguros
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Another Frenchwoman, Harmony Tan, also hit the Top 100 on Feb. 28, a week after the 24-year-old scored her first Top 30 victory over Madison Keys in Guadalajara.
Abierto GNP Seguros
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Harriet Dart, 25, entered the Top 100 on Mar. 21 after the Briton upset Elina Svitolina and Kaia Kanepi to reach the last 16 of Indian Wells.
Jimmie48/WTA
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23-year-old Italian Lucia Bronzetti had reached the quarterfinals of her first three WTA main draws in 2021, and made the last 16 of Miami on her WTA 1000 debut - lifting her into the Top 100 on Apr. 4.
Jimmie48/WTA
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Former junior No.1 Dalma Galfi reached her first WTA semifinal at Budapest 2021, and the 23-year-old Hungarian hit the Top 100 on Apr. 4 after making the second round of Miami.
Abierto GNP Seguros
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Kamilla Rakhimova, 20, made her first WTA quarterfinal at Melbourne Summer Set 2 and her first semifinal in Bogota, cracking the Top 100 after the latter run on Apr. 11.
Copa Colsanitas
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After reaching her first WTA semifinal at Hamburg 2021, 22-year-old Jule Niemeier became the first German Top 100 debutante since Laura Siegemund in 2015 on May 9 after winning the Zagreb ITF W60.
Jimmie48/WTA
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Having previously reached No.107 just before the Covid shutdown in Mar. 2020, China's Wang Xiyu cracked the Top 100 on Jun. 13 after the 21-year-old made her first WTA 125 final in Valencia.
BBVA Open Internacional de Valencia
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Linda Noskova, 17, took over from Coco Gauff as the youngest player in the Top 100 on Aug. 1 after her Prague semifinal run, in just her second tour-level main draw, lifted the Czech to No.94.
Daniel Gravis/WTA
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Having made her first WTA 500 quarterfinal in Eastbourne in June, a semifinal run at the Grodzisk Mazowiecki ITF W100 saw Viktoriya Tomova, 27, become the ninth Bulgarian player to crack the Top 100 on Aug. 8.
Daniel Gravis/WTA
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Italy's Elisabetta Cocciaretto first reached No.108 in Jun. 2021 before being sidelined by a knee injury, but a strong 2022 comeback including runs to the Makarska 125 final and Palermo quarterfinals saw the 21-year-old crack the Top 100 on Aug. 22.
Michal Jedrzejewski/BNP Paribas Poland Open
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Laura Pigossi's breakthrough 2022 has been highlighted by her first WTA final in Bogota and a run to the Warsaw quarterfinals; on Aug. 29, the 28-year-old became the ninth Brazilian to reach the Top 100.
Mathias Schulz/WTA
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Julia Grabher, 26, vaulted into the Top 100 on Sep. 12 after capturing the biggest title of her career at the Bari 125. Grabher became the first Austrian to debut in the Top 100 since Patricia Mayr-Achleitner in Feb. 2009.
BBVA Open Internacional de Valencia
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Linda Fruhvirtova, 17, became the first 2005-born player to enter the Top 100 on Sep. 19 after winning her first WTA title in Chennai, where the Czech teenager was contesting her eighth tour-level main draw.
Parthi Bhan/WTA
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Germany's Tamara Korpatsch, 27, entered the Top 100 on Sep. 26 following a 12-match winning streak encompassing her 11th ITF title at the Montreux W60 followed by her first WTA 125 title as a qualifier in Budapest.
Witters/Hamburg European Open
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China's Yuan Yue had a breakthrough tournament at the US Open, qualifying and notching her first tour-level wins to make the third round. The 24-year-old entered the Top 100 on Oct. 17 after winning her second ITF W60 of 2022 in Las Vegas.
Jimmie48/WTA
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Ysaline Bonaventure hit No.109 in Jul. 2019, but had slid down No.235 by the start of 2022. But the 28-year-old Belgian soared into the Top 100 on Oct. 31 after reaching the Tallinn quarterfinals, then consecutive ITF finals in Hamburg and Poitiers.
Petean Calin Florin/WTA
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Having previously reached No.105 in Sep. 2019 but fallen to No.229 in Jun. 2022, Caty McNally cracked the Top 100 on Nov. 7 after winning the Midland 125 title. The 20-year-old American had notched 15 wins in 18 matches following the US Open.
Ben Peskar
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A strong European indoor season saw Alycia Parks reach her first WTA quarterfinal in Ostrava and win her maiden WTA 125 title in Andorra la Vella. Following the latter run, the 21-year-old American entered the Top 100 on Dec. 5.
Crèdit Andorrà Open
