Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka continue to maintain their hold of the top two spots in the WTA rankings following the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, the second clay-court WTA 1000 event of the season.
For the second consecutive tournament, Swiatek and Sabalenka met in the final, with Swiatek winning again. She became the third player to win both Madrid and Rome back-to-back. Swiatek, now with 11,695 points, holds a 3,557-point lead over No.2 Sabalenka.
Sabalenka once again held off a threat from Coco Gauff to remain at No.2. Between them, Swiatek and Sabalenka have held the No.1 and No.2 positions for the past 68 weeks.
Notably in Rome, four of the players who reached the Round of 16 had entered the tournament via special rankings after returning from injury or maternity leave: Naomi Osaka, Angelique Kerber, Irina-Camelia Begu and Paula Badosa. Three of those receive significant boosts this week.
Begu, who was playing the fourth tournament of her comeback from an elbow injury that sidelined her for seven months, is up 34 places from No.161 to No.127. Osaka posted three consecutive clay-court victories for the first time since Madrid 2019. She rises 39 places from No.173 to No.134. Kerber made the last 16 of a WTA 1000 event for the second time this year and soars 93 places from No.331 to No.238.
Rome success boosts Collins, Azarenka, Sakkari
Danielle Collins continued to excel in the final season of her career. The Miami and Charleston champion reached her first WTA 1000 clay-court semifinal in Rome and is up two more places to No.12. She was ranked as low as No.71 in February.
Former No.1 Victoria Azarenka moves up three spots to No.21 after making her seventh career Rome quarterfinal, while in the only movement in the Top 10 this week, Maria Sakkari climbs one place to No.7 after reaching the fourth round in Rome.
Shnaider breaks Top 50; Sramkova, Uchijima debut in Top 100
By winning her first Hologic WTA Tour title in Hua Hin in February, Diana Shnaider is continuing to notch milestones. The 20-year-old scored her third career Top 20 win over Liudmila Samsonova to reach the Rome third round, then followed it by taking the Paris WTA 125 title last week. Shnaider is boosted 15 places from No.62 to No.47, entering the Top 50 for the first time.
Gallery: A look at who cracked the Top 100 this year
Rebecca Sramkova and Moyuka Uchijima both crack the Top 100 for the first time this week, several years after first getting close to it. Sramkova got to No.111 back in May 2017 before multiple injuries derailed her career. Last week in Rome, the 27-year-old Slovakian qualifier took out Katie Boulter and Sofia Kenin before falling to Jelena Ostapenko in a fourth-round thriller. Sramkova jumps 31 places from No.120 to No.89.
Uchijima got as high as No.104 in November 2022 but ended 2023 at No.199. The Japanese 22-year-old has been in hot form recently, though. Over the past three weeks, Uchijima has compiled a 15-match winning streak over two surfaces and continents, winning the Gifu ITF W100, Trnava ITF W75 and Madrid ITF W100 titles. She has won 22 of her last 23 matches since the start of April.
Uchijima rockets 30 places from No.110 to No.80.
Other notable rankings movements
Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (+14, from No.67 to No.53): Former No.26 Schmiedlova won her second WTA 125 trophy, in Parma, last week and rises to her highest ranking since July 2016.
Mayar Sherif (+14, No.80 to No.66): The Egyptian was runner-up at a WTA 125 event for the second time in the past month, falling to Schmiedlova in the Parma final.
Brenda Fruhvirtova (+12, No.102 to No.90): The 17-year-old Czech qualified and reached the second round of Rome and hits a new career high.
Jule Niemeier (+8, from No.105 to No.97): Former Wimbledon quarterfinalist Niemeier reached the Parma WTA 125 semifinals last week and returns to the Top 100 for the first time since August.
Dominika Salkova (+23, from No.174 to No.151): The 19-year-old Czech won her second ITF W75 title of the season two weeks ago in Prague and reaches a new career high.
Mananchaya Sawangkaew (+22, from No.214 to No.192) and Lanlana Tararudee (+10, from No.210 to No.200): Two young Thai players make their Top 200 debuts this week. Sawangkaew, 21, reached the Kurume ITF W75 semifinals last week, while Tararudee, 19, made the Luan ITF W75 quarterfinals two weeks ago. The last time two Thai players were ranked inside the Top 200 was August of 2017 (Luksika Kumkhum and Peangtarn Plipuech).
Jil Teichmann (+31, from No.230 to No.199): Former No.21 Teichmann, making her comeback from a back injury, won the Santa Margherita di Pula ITF W35 title three weeks ago and followed it with a run to the Zagreb ITF W75 semifinals last week.
Leyre Romero Gormaz (+41, from No.262 to No.221): Romero Gormaz, 22, reached her first ITF W100 final in Madrid last week. The Spaniard reached her career high of No.156 in April of 2023.
Akasha Urhobo (+149, from No.506 to No.357): The 17-year-old American compiled an 11-match winning streak over the past two weeks, winning her first pro title at the Zephyrhills ITF W75 as a qualifier before making the Bethany Beach ITF W35 final. She zooms up to a new career high.
Shi Han (+106, from No.465 to No.359): China's Shi, 18, won her first ITF W50 title in Anning last week and reaches a new career high.
Iva Jovic (+104, from No.509 to No.405): Jovic, 16, has reached the final in four of the seven pro tournaments she has played so far. The American teenager defeated Timea Babos and Kayla Day at the Zephyrhills ITF W75 before falling to Urhobo. She cracks the Top 500 for the first time.
Tara Wurth (+251, from No.730 to No.479): Croatia's Wurth reached a career high of No.145 in April of 2023 before a stress fracture in her left foot sidelined her for six months. The 21-year-old returned to action in January and won the first title of her comeback last week at the Zagreb ITF W75.
Aya El Aouni (+159, from No.788 to No.629): Former Top 30 junior El Aouni will head into her home tournament in Rabat, where she has a wild card this week, in strong form. The 18-year-old Moroccan is on a 10-match winning streak after claiming back-to-back ITF W15 titles in Antalya.
Mayu Crossley (UNR to No.895): Former junior No.5 Crossley enters the rankings for the first time after reaching her first pro final at the Boca Raton ITF W35 three weeks ago. The Japanese 17-year-old claimed the Eddie Herr and Orange Bowl junior titles back-to-back in 2022.
Zarina Diyas (UNR to No.993): Two weeks ago, former No.31 Diyas returned to action for the first time since Roland Garros 2022. The 30-year-old Kazakh reached the second round at both the Fukuoka and Kurume ITF W75 events and re-enters the WTA rankings for the first time since January of 2023.
Gloriana Nahum (UNR to No.1165): The 17-year-old from Benin makes history this week as the first player from her country to gain a WTA ranking. Nahum reached her first pro final last October at a Monastir ITF W15 event and reached the Nova Gorica ITF W15 quarterfinals two weeks ago.
![Sara Sorribes Tormo d. [WC] Gao Xinyu 6-7(4), 7-5, 7-5, Beijing R1 (4:15). Sorribes Tormo led 5-1 in the third set, and held off a late comeback attempt by Gao to win the fourth longest match of the Open Era.](https://photoresources.wtatennis.com/photo-resources/2024/09/26/f4607c83-dcf9-4897-9b41-90ae8c384a35/Sorribes-Tormo-R1-ST-2.jpg?width=451&height=268)
