Rankings Watch: Shnaider's all-court mastery vaults her to a new career high

Last week, the traditional post-Wimbledon European clay-court swing got underway on the Hologic WTA Tour, with multiple 250-level events taking place. Both events were won by the No.1 seeds. Zheng Qinwen successfully defended her Palermo crown, while Diana Shnaider powered her way to the Budapest trophy.

While there was no movement in the Top 20 in this week's edition of the PIF WTA Rankings, Shnaider's title helped lift her to a new career high -- up another five places to No.23. Shnaider, 20, overtakes Linda Noskova as the second-highest ranked player born in 2004, behind only Coco Gauff.

Impressively, Shnaider's has now completed the career surface sweep with her first three titles, following her victories in Hua Hin on hard courts in February and in Bad Homburg on grass in June. She is the first player to win her first three titles on different surfaces since Elena Rybakina (Bucharest 2019 on clay, Hobart 2020 on hard, Wimbledon 2022 on grass) and the youngest player to win titles on three different surfaces since Caroline Wozniacki in 2009 (Ponte Vedra Beach on clay, Eastbourne on grass and New Haven on hard).

Muchova returns to Top 30, Sasnovich moves up

Only three tournaments into her comeback from right wrist surgery, former Roland Garros finalist Karolina Muchova reached her fifth career final. In Palermo, Muchova was denied a second title by Zheng, but she climbs six places from No.35 to No.29. However, over the coming two months, Muchova has the Cincinnati final and the US Open semifinal points to defend.

In Budapest, a resurgent Aliaksandra Sasnovich made her first final since Cleveland 2022, her first on clay and fifth overall. The 30-year-old still has to wait for her first title after falling to Shnaider, but her run still marked a welcome turnaround. Sasnovich entered Budapest with just two tour-level wins in 2024 and ranked No.134, her lowest position since 2015. This week, she bounces back up 30 places to No.104.

New career highs for Lys, Lamens

Two milestones in Budapest led to new career highs this week. Germany's Eva Lys, 22, reached her first WTA semifinal and climbs 21 spots from No.129 to No.108.

Meanwhile, Dutch 25-year-old Suzan Lamens made her first WTA quarterfinal and is up 16 places from No.137 to No.121.

Other notable rankings movements

Diane Parry (+6, No.58 to No.52): The Frenchwoman reached her second semifinal of 2024 in Palermo. She's only three spots off the career high of No.49 she set in April.

Chloe Paquet (+9, No.115 to No.105): Back in the summer of 2022, Paquet spent 20 consecutive weeks ranked between No.101 and No.110 but never managed to crack the Top 100. Last July, she had fallen to No.217. But the 30-year-old Frenchwoman has given herself another shot with strong results this summer with a third-round run at Roland Garros and, last week in Palermo, her first WTA quarterfinal since Jurmala 2019.

Ann Li (+13, No.127 to No.114): In 2021, Li cracked the Top 50 after winning her first tour-level title in Tenerife, only for injuries to contribute to her fall out of the Top 100 the following year. In Palermo, the 24-year-old American reached her first WTA quarterfinal since Melbourne Summer Set two years ago and is up to her highest ranking since October 2022.

Alexandra Eala (+12, No.155 to No.143) and Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva (+35, No.231 to No.197): Two 2005-born former junior Grand Slam champions contested the biggest final of their pro careers last week at the Vitoria-Gasteiz ITF W100 in Spain, with Eala winning their first meeting 6-4, 6-4. The 19-year-old Filipina reaches a new career high. For Jimenez Kasintseva, her final showing was part of a resurgence. The 18-year-old Andorran got as high as No.121 in November 2022 but had fallen to No.379 this March.

Maja Chwalinska (+34, No.201 to No.167): The 22-year-old Polish player is on a 10-match winning streak after capturing her second ITF W75 title in a row last week in Porto. Chwalinska -- who was the 2017 Australian Open girls' doubles finalist with Iga Swiatek -- dropped just 19 games in five matches en route to the trophy.

Mary Stoiana (+135, No.598 to No.463): Texas A&M college player Stoiana, a former NCAA Division I No.1, reached her first ITF W75 final last week in Evansville. Despite her limited schedule owing to college commitments -- the 21-year-old American has played only four pro tournaments this year -- Stoiana has now cracked the Top 500 for the first time.

Kayla Cross (+151, No.638 to No.487): Former junior No.15 Cross also reached her first ITF W75 final last week in Granby, as the 19-year-old Canadian breaks into the Top 500.

Kaitlin Quevedo (+122, No.643 to No.521): The 18-year-old Spaniard won her first ITF W35 title as a qualifier two weeks ago in Buzau, defeating former No.56 Patricia Maria Tig in the final and rises to a new career high.

Lucciana Perez Alarcon (+131, No.899 to No.768): It's been a good month for Texas A&M students. Stoiana's teammate Perez Alarcon, the 2023 Roland Garros junior finalist, claimed her first pro title at the Lujan ITF W15 two weeks ago. The 18-year-old Peruvian climbs to a new career high.