Rankings Watch: Rybakina makes Top 10 debut, Sabalenka returns to No.2

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The first Grand Slam tournament of the 2023 season is complete, with brand new Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka

spearheading a number of significant moves in the latest edition of the WTA Rankings.

Sabalenka returns to her career-high ranking of No.2. In her past three tournaments, the 24-year-old has collected 3,525 ranking points. In addition to earning 2,000 points for winning the title, Sabalenka also gained 470 points for winning the title at Adelaide 1 and 955 points for finishing as runner-up at last year's WTA Finals.

Australian Open reaction

Even with her recent success, Sabalenka still trails current World No.1 Iga Swiatek

by 4,385 points. However, through Roland Garros, Sabalenka is defending 1,115 ranking points compared to Swiatek's 6,270 points.

For the meantime, Swiatek extended her stay at No.1 to 44 consecutive weeks, the fourth longest after debuting in that position. Only Stefanie Graf (186), Martina Hingis (80) and Serena Williams (57) own longer stays upon first climbing to the top.

Rybakina's Top 10 debut

Elena Rybakina

enters the WTA Top 10 in singles for the first time in her career this week, becoming the first player (male or female) representing Kazakhstan to break into the elite ranking bracket. She has risen from No.25 to No.10.

Rybakina's journey to the Top 10 saw her reach the Portoroz final and Ostrava semifinals last year, in addition to reaching the quarterfinal stage at WTA 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells and Cincinnati.

Teenagers in Top 100

This week’s Top 100 includes four teenagers: Coco Gauff

(No.6), (No.51), (No.56) and (No.94).

Gauff, the highest-ranked teenager, has been ranked in the Top 10 for 21 consecutive weeks and rises one spot to No.6 after reaching the Australian Open fourth round. She also holds the No.2 spot in the doubles rankings after reaching the semifinals in that discipline (with Jessica Pegula

Fruhvirtova, the youngest in the Top 100 at 17 years old, advanced to the fourth round at the Australian Open, her second Grand Slam main-draw appearance. With that second-week appearance, the Czech jumps 31 spots in the rankings from No.82 to a career-high, No.51.

Noskova, although she lost in the opening round of qualifying at the Australian Open, equals her career-high ranking this week at No.56. The 18-year-old started the season by advancing to the final at Adelaide 1 via qualifying, losing in the championship match to the eventual Australian Open champion, Sabalenka.

Photos: The Top 100 breakthroughs of 2023

Shnaider makes her Top 100 debut this week at No.94 after making her Grand Slam main-draw debut at the Australian Open as a qualifier. It was also Shnaider's first tour-level main draw, and she made an impact by reaching the second round and stretching Maria Sakkari

to three sets.

Other notable ranking jumps

Victoria Azarenka

View Profile (+8, from No.24 to No.16): The two-time Australian Open champion reached the semifinal stage of the tournament for the first time since 2013 and climbs eight spots to No.16 -- her highest ranking since last May. At 33 years old, Azarenka is the oldest woman in the Top 20.

Karolina Pliskova

View Profile (+11, from No.31 to No.20): A quarterfinalist at the Australian Open, the 30-year-old Pliskova returns to the Top 20 this week. The former World No.1 dropped out of the Top 20 last October but three months later has quickly bounced back.

Donna Vekic

View Profile (+31, from No.64 to No.33): The former World No.19 advanced to the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, equaling her career-best result at a Slam (also reached QF at 2019 US Open). Vekic rises 31 spots in this week's rankings to No.33.

Magda Linette

View Profile (+31, from No.45 to No.22): After reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal in her 30th main-draw appearance at the Slams, Linette climbs 31 spots this week to a career-high No.22.

Zhu Lin (+33, from No.87 to No.54): Among the Top 100, the biggest climb following the Australian Open belongs to Zhu Lin, who celebrated her 29th birthday last week. Playing in her 14th Grand Slam main draw, Zhu advanced to the second week for the first time in her career, earning 240 ranking points as she climbs 33 spots this week to a career-high No.54. She is now the Chinese No.3, behind only Zhang Shuai (No.23) and Zheng Qinwen (No.29).

More noteworthy moves

Ekaterina Alexandrova

View Profile (No.19) and Anhelina Kalinina

View Profile (No.31) join Linette and Rybakina as Top 50 players reaching their career-best ranking this week.

Katerina Siniakova

View Profile maintains her hold on the doubles World No.1 ranking after teaming with to successfully defend their Australian Open title. Siniakova has held the No.1 doubles ranking for 83 total weeks, while Krejcikova sits at No.3.

Katie Volynets

View Profile joins Shnaider in making her Top 100 debut this week. The 21-year-old American jumps 17 spots from No.113 to No.96 after scoring her first Top 10 win over to reach the third round of the Australian Open as a qualifier. Volynets and Shnaider join and as players to crack the Top 100 for the first time this season.

Laura Siegemund

View Profile was the lowest-ranked player to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open. The German former World No.27, who has been on the comeback trail from knee surgery, returned to the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time since Roland Garros 2020 and climbs 33 spots from No.158 to No.125.

WTA Staff