The second week of the Hologic WTA Tour's 2024 grass swing ended with Jessica Pegula taking home the WTA 500 title in Berlin. On Sunday, Pegula pulled off a double-duty winning performance, beating Coco Gauff in the semifinals before saving five match points in the final to edge Anna Kalinskaya.
In Birmingham, a WTA 250-level event, Yulia Putintseva knocked off Ajla Tomljanovic to win the third title of her career.
Of the four finalists, Kalinskaya is the one who has reached a new milestone in this week's edition of the PIF WTA Rankings. The 25-year-old climbs seven places from No.24 to No.17, entering the Top 20 for the first time. Kalinskaya is the fourth player to make her Top 20 debut this year, following Jasmine Paolini, Emma Navarro and Marta Kostyuk.
Kalinskaya, who was ranked as low as No.115 last October, has put together a breakthrough season. In Australia, she reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal and followed it with her first tour-level final, at the Dubai WTA 1000 in February. Though Kalinskaya missed those championship points in an attempt to win her first title, her run in the German capital was another measure of her improvement this year.
Putintseva, Tomljanovic thrive in Birmingham
Putintseva and Tomljanovic were also rewarded with significant rankings boosts after their efforts in Birmingham. Putintseva, who won her first title since 2021 and first of her career on grass, rises seven places to No.34. It's the Kazahstani's highest placement since July 2022 and only seven spots off the career high of No.27 she hit in both 2017 and 2020.
Tomljanovic was playing just the fourth tournament of her comeback from surgery to remove non-cancerous uterine tumors, which sidelined her between January and May this year. But she hit the ground running to reach her fifth career final, first since Hua Hin 2019 and first on grass. The Australian -- who also missed most of the 2023 season with a knee surgery -- rises 55 places from No.190 to No.135.
Other notable rankings movements
Katerina Siniakova (+3, from No.30 to No.27): One week after debuting in the Top 30, Siniakova reaches another new career high after qualifying for Berlin and reaching the quarterfinals.
Leylah Fernandez (+3, from No.33 to No.30): The 2021 US Open runner-up returns to the Top 30 for the first time since September 2022 after making the Birmingham quarterfinals.
Caroline Dolehide (+9, from No.61 to No.52): As a lucky loser in Birmingham, the American made her first tour-level quarterfinal since her surprise run to the Guadalajara final last October. Dolehide was the only player to take a set from eventual champion Putintseva.
Anna Bondar (+13, from No.106 to No.93): The former No.50 returned to the Top 100 after winning her second ITF W75 title of the year in Olomouc last week.
Bernarda Pera (+9, from No.103 to No.94): Two weeks ago, Pera fell out of the Top 100 for the first time since July 2022. The American has rebounded after reaching the Gaiba WTA 125 final last week.
Alycia Parks (+27, from No.148 to No.121): Until last week, Parks had endured a disastrous first half of 2024, including a 13-match losing streak between January and May. Her season record before Gaiba was just 3-16. In her first qualifying round there, the 23-year-old American faced two match points against Anna Siskova -- but escaped them both and went on to a remarkable title run. The trophy is her first at any level since winning Lyon 2023.
Zeynep Sonmez (+21, from No.157 to No.136): Just over a year ago, Sonmez made her tour-level debut by qualifying for 's-Hertogenbosch 2023. The grass swing has once again provided a career milestone for the Turkish 22-year-old, who qualified in Berlin and defeated Arantxa Rus to notch her first WTA main-draw win. Sonmez hits a new career high.
Berfu Cengiz (+38, from No.288 to No.250): Another Turkish player continued her strong ITF World Tour form last week. The 24-year-old Cengiz's Ystad ITF W50 title was her third title in her past five tournaments.
Julie Pastikova (UNR to No.814): The 16-year-old Czech entered the rankings after reaching the Olomouc ITF W75 semifinals last week in just her fourth professional tournament.
