Australia's Ashleigh Barty increased her lead in the Porsche Race to Shenzhen Leaderboard, courtesy of her championship run at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati on Sunday, her tour-leading fifth title of the season. The WTA World No.1 defeated Jil Teichmann in the final to add 900 points to her total and moved one step closer toward qualifying for the WTA Finals, where she is defending champion.

Barbora Krejcikova jumped one place to No.2 after a strong quarterfinal run in Cincinnati before she was stopped by Barty in the last eight.

In doubles, the team of Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani rose five places this week to sit at No.11. The pair joined forces earlier this month but have reached the final in every tournament they have contested - finishing runners-up at the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic title in San Jose, winning the Rogers Cup presented by National Bank in Montreal and most recently reaching the title match in Cincinnati.

The other big move sees Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Iga Swiatek climb two places to sit in the final qualifying place, at No.8. The American-Polish duo reached the quarterfinals in Cincinnati this past week.

Tennis in the Land (Cleveland) and the WTA Chicago Women's Open represent lap number 28 on the Porsche Race to Shenzhen (a reference to qualifying tournaments leading into the Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen). The Top 8 singles players and doubles teams of 2021 will secure their spot at the year-end finale.

The singles winner of the Porsche Race to Shenzhen - the player who finishes in pole position leading into the WTA Finals - will not only seal a spot at the season-ending showpiece but also be rewarded with the keys to a new Porsche.

Click here to read more on the latest Porsche Race to Shenzhen Leaderboard.

Porsche Race to Shenzhen

WTA