This week’s WTA Ranking watch highlights a Top 10 debut, a historic streak coming to an end, a WTA Ranking first and more. With points from 2019 Toronto dropping off this week, in addition to results from the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose, the Winners Open in Cluj-Napoca, Romania and the Thoreau Tennis Open 125 in Concord, there are some notable shifts in the rankings.

Barbora Krejcikova, Top 10 debut

Krejcikova makes Top 10 debut

Barbora Krejcikova continues to enjoy a career-best campaign as she makes her Top 10 debut this week in the latest WTA Rankings. The 25-year-old has won 20 of 21 matches across her last four tournaments, a span in which she won her first career singles title at Strasbourg, captured her first career Grand Slam singles title at Roland Garros, capped by a title in her home nation as she won in Prague as well.  

Krejcikova’s rapid climb to the Top 10 began less than a year ago, on October 12, 2020, when she made her Top 100 debut. After reaching the fourth round of Roland Garros 2020, she moved from No.114 to No.85, and her upward trajectory in the singles rankings has continued ever since. After starting the year ranked No.65, she made her Top 50 debut on March 15 after reaching the Dubai final, while her success at Roland Garros resulted in her Top 20 debut. 

In addition to her success in singles, Krejcikova continues to establish herself as one of the elite doubles players on Tour as well. She became the first player in 21 years to complete the singles and doubles title sweep at Roland Garros. Earlier this year, she won doubles titles in Melbourne (Gippsland Trophy) and Madrid alongside Katerina Siniakova and ascended to the top of the WTA Doubles Rankings, holding the No.1 spot for four weeks. 

With a doubles gold medal at the Olympics and a mixed doubles title at the Australian Open also included on her 2021 resume, Krejcikova has won 73 matches this year across all disciplines.  

Halep streak snapped

Krejcikova’s climb means that Simona Halep has dropped out of the Top 10 for the first time in seven years. Since making her Top 10 debut on January 27, 2014, Halep has held a Top 10 ranking for 373 consecutive weeks, a run that ranks as the 8th best in WTA history. Only Martina Navratilova (1,000 consecutive weeks), Chris Evert (746), Stefanie Graf (625), Gabriela Sabatini (508), Pam Shriver (458), Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (429) and Hana Mandlikova (421) own longer streaks. 

Konjuh returns to Top 100

Last week, former World No.20 Ana Konjuh advanced to the semifinal in San Jose - the first time the Croat had reached the last four of a 500 or higher event. As a result, Konjuh’s ranking improves 28 spots this week, moving from No.116 to No.88. After dropping out of the Top 100 on May 7, 2018, Konjuh returned to the Top 200 after reaching the Belgrade final this May. 

Sherif makes Top 100 debut

Over the past year, Mayar Sherif has become the second Egyptian woman to compete in a WTA main draw (Prague 2020), the first to compete in a Grand Slam main draw (Roland Garros 2020) and the first to win a Grand Slam or WTA-level main draw match (Australian Open 2021).

Last week, the 25-year-old continued to make history, becoming the first woman from her country to reach a WTA final in Cluj-Napoca. As a result, Sherif becomes the first Egyptian woman to climb into the Top 100, as her efforts lift her from No.119 to No.97.

Other notable ranking movements

•    American Danielle Collins captured her second career title in San Jose, and jumps eight spots (from No.36 to No.28). Collins, who won in Palermo two weeks ago and is on a 10-match winning streak, is one of seven Americans ranked in this week’s Top 30. 

•    Andrea Petkovic returned to the winner’s circle for the first time in six years as she lifted the trophy in Cluj-Napoca. By winning her sixth career title, and first since Antwerp 2015, Petkovic moves up 23 spots to No.68 (from No.91).

•    Poland’s Magdalena Frech won the biggest title of her career last week at the Thoreau Tennis Open 125 event in in Concord, Massachusetts. Her ranking improves 23 spots from No.153 to No.130, and she is just 15 places behind the career-high of No.115 she set in July 2018.

•    Concord runner-up Renata Zarazua made her first 125 final last week via upsets of Hsieh Su-Wei and Madison Brengle, the seventh and eighth Top 100 wins of the Mexican's career. Zarazua rises 15 spots from No.137 to a new career-high ranking of No.122.

•    Cluj-Napoca semifinalist Aleksandra Krunic reached the last four of a WTA tournament for the first time since winning the 2018 's-Hertogenbosch title. The Serb, who had to qualify before upsetting Ana Bogdan and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, returns to the Top 200 for the first time since February 2020, climbing 71 places from No.268 to No.197. 

•    In addition to Krejcikova's debut, the Top 10 saw a shift this week as Bianca Andreescu drops 900 points from her 2019 Toronto title run, as the Canadian falls from No.5 to No.8. As a result, Elina Svitolina (to No.5), Karolina Pliskova (to No.6) and Iga Swiatek (to No.7) have all shifted up one spot.