Insider Wrap: Sherif makes history for Egypt as Collins, Petkovic shine

The Insider Wrap is a weekly recap of everything you need to know from the week that was. This week, WTA Insider looks back at the 50th-anniversary edition of the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic and the inaugural Winners Open in Cluj-Napoca, where two fiery veterans continued their winning ways.

Performance of the Week: Danielle Collins

The American is officially on a tear. After winning her first WTA title two weeks ago on the clay of Palermo, the American is back in the Top 30 after storming to the biggest title of her career at the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic. Extending her winning streak to 10, Collins defeated Shelby Rogers, Sloane Stephens, Elena Rybakina, Ana Konjuh, and Daria Kasatkina to win San Jose. 

READ: How Collins, Kasatkina sought physical, mental help to turn their careers around

Throughout the week, Collins spoke openly about her April surgery for endometriosis, which has turned around not only her career but her life. After enduring debilitating physical pain at the start of the season, Collins was finally diagnosed with endometriosis and went in for an emergency surgery just four days later. She tentatively returned to the tour at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, but after staying in Europe to get more matches, Collins has soared. 

Now ranked No.28 - five spots away from her career-high ranking - Collins has now won 14 of her last 16 matches. 

Surprise of the Week: Mayar Sherif

Sherif made WTA history in Cluj-Napoca, becoming the first woman representing Egypt to advance to a WTA final. Sherif's milestone came on an historic day for Egyptian women, with Feryal Abdelaziz becoming the first Egyptian woman to win Olympic gold, after winning the +61kg karate competition in Tokyo. 

To add even more historical context for Sherif's success, her run in Cluj-Napoca comes in the wake of Ons Jabeur's trailblazing 2021 season. The Tunisian became the first Arab woman to win a WTA title two months ago in Birmingham and became the first Arab woman to advance to the Wimbledon quarterfinals a few weeks later. 

On Monday, Sherif will be able to add one more milestone to her growing CV. The 25-year-old Pepperdine alum is now the first Egyptian woman to crack the Top 100.  

Honor Roll

Andrea Petkovic

With Collins and Petkovic taking home the tour's titles, the theme of the week was perseverance. The former World No.9 captured her first title in six years, winning Cluj-Napoca for her seventh career title. 

The 33-year-old has been on a tear since  Wimbledon, making the Hamburg final, making the semifinals of the WTA 125K in Belgrade, and then breaking through with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Sherif to win Cluj-Napoca. It's a big surge for the fan-favorite German, who had not won back-to-back matches in 2021 before Hamburg. She has now won 9 of her last 10 tour-level matches.

Daria Kasatkina

The Russian could only tip her cap to Collins' final performance, which saw the American strike a stunning 54 winners, including 12 well-timed aces. But Kasatkina's head remains high after her run to the San Jose final, where she tallied a strong win over top seed Elise Mertens to make her fourth final of the season. She is now back in the Top 30 for the first time in over two years. 

WTA Roundtable: Previewing the North American summer swing

Ana Konjuh

Who knows what Konjuh would be doing on the tour if she wasn't having to expend her energy in qualifying? The Croatian ran out of gas in the semifinals against Collins, but with wins over Marie Bouzkova, Alison Riske, and Zhang Shuai, Konjuh booked a spot in the biggest semifinal of her career. 

The good news for Konjuh? Her grinding efforts since returning to the tour after multiple arm surgeries has put her back in the Top 100 for the first time since 2018, at No.88. 

WTA 125K: Frech triumphs over Zarazua to win Concord

Darija Jurak and Andreja Klepac

The San Jose champions have become a team to reckon with. The duo has won two titles in the last two months, first in Bad Homburg and now San Jose, where they upset the top seeds in the final. 

Elena Rybakina

Rybakina deserves a huge amount of credit for playing San Jose days after finishing fourth at the Tokyo Olympics. She lost out in two tiebreaks to Collins, but the 22-year-old continues to be one to watch in the draws.

Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani

With Hayley Carter taking a coaching job at Vanderbilt University, Tokyo bronze medalist Luisa Stefani has teamed with Dabrowski for (at least) the North American hardcourt swing. In their first tournament as a team this season - they played together once before - Dabrowski and Stefani marched to the San Jose final and appeared to complement each other well. 

Notable Numbers

73: Matches won by Barbora Krejcikova across all disciplines this season.

2: Sets lost by Danielle Collins during her 10-match winning streak.

4: Finals made by Daria Kasatkina in 2021. This ties her with Barbora Krejcikova for the second-most on tour, behind Ashleigh Barty's tour-leading five.

Next Up: Everything you need to know about the WTA's return to Montreal 

Porsche Race Leaderboard Update

The most significant movement on the Porsche Race Leaderboard came with San Jose runner-up Kasatkina and semifinalist Mertens. The Belgian rose three spots and now sits just outside of qualifying range at No.9. Kasatkina rose eight spots to sit at No.13.

It's a milestone week for the woman who sits at No.2 on the Porsche Race Leaderboard, Barbora Krejcikova. The Roland Garros champion makes her Top 10 debut this week in the WTA Rankings after going on an absolute tear to win 20 of her last 21 matches on tour.