Last week on the Hologic WTA Tour, the North American summer hard-court swing continued with Jessica Pegula successfully defending her National Bank Open title in Toronto for the third WTA 1000 trophy of her career.
Pegula wrapped up her title run with victory over Amanda Anisimova in the second all-American final of 2024. She holds steady at No.6 in the latest edition of the PIF WTA Rankings.
However, it's Anisimova who makes the most significant jump. The 22-year-old's 83-spot leap from No.132 to No.49 is the largest in the Top 500 this week.
Anisimova, who returned from a seven-month mental health break at the start of the season, was ranked No.442 in January. Her comeback started brightly, with a run to the fourth round of the Australian Open, but she was able to compile only a 2-4 record on clay and fell in the qualifying rounds of both her grass-court tournaments.
However, Anisimova has found her best form after returning to hard courts. Two weeks ago, she made the Washington quarterfinals as a qualifier. Her run in Toronto marked her first final since January 2022 and the first of her career at the WTA 1000 level. She's now back inside the Top 50 for the first time since April 2023.
Shnaider cracks Top 20, Kessler enters Top 100
Toronto semifinalist Diana Shnaider also notches a significant milestone this week, rising four places to make her Top 20 debut at No.20 after reaching the semifinals of a WTA 1000 event for the first time. Shnaider's run also included her first career Top 10 win, a victory over No.1 seed Coco Gauff in the third round, and was all the more impressive considering the quick turnaround from the Paris Olympic Games doubles final the previous week.
Shnaider started 2024 by falling just outside the Top 100 in January. However, she has racked up a series of eye-catching achievements since. Along with an Olympic silver medal, she has already completed a surface sweep of titles after a trio of titles in Hua Hin, Bad Homburg and Budapest. Shnaider has now won 17 of her past 20 singles matches and is the second 2004-born player to reach the Top 20, following Gauff.
A University of Florida alumna, McCartney Kessler's smooth transition to the pro ranks continued last week as the American took the Landisville ITF W100 title. She rises 10 places to enter the Top 100 for the first time -- at No.100. Kessler, 25, cut her ranking from No.948 to No.231 in 2023 and has continued to notch milestones this season. She also made her WTA main-draw debut in Auckland in January, won her first tour-level match at the Australian Open and captured her first WTA 125 title in Puerto Vallarta in February.
Career highs for Townsend, Uchijima, Krueger
Three players have risen to their highest rankings this week after career-best showings in Toronto. Taylor Townsend entered the draw as a lucky loser but made terrific use of the second chance, knocking off Jelena Ostapenko for her sixth career Top 20 win -- a result that propelled the American into her first tour-level quarterfinal. Townsend rises 18 spots to a new peak of No.53.
Japan's Moyuka Uchijima qualified and won her first career WTA 100 main-draw match. She climbs four spots to enter the Top 60 for the first time, at No.59. Meanwhile, Ashlyn Krueger upset Leylah Fernandez to make the last 16 of a WTA 1000 event for the first time. The 20-year-old American rises 17 places to No.65, matching the career high of No.65 she first set in May.
Other notable rankings movements
Emma Navarro +2 to No.13: The American made her first WTA 1000 semifinal last week in Toronto and climbs to a new career high.
Peyton Stearns +7 to No.46: Stearns returns to the Top 50 for the first time since January after reaching her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal in Toronto. She is three spots off her career high of No.43.
Anna Bondar +15 to No.79: The Hungarian won her second career WTA 125 title in Hamburg last week and rises to her highest ranking since March 2023. Bondar extended her winning streak to 10 matches, building on her third ITF W75 title of the year the previous week in Hechingen.
Elena-Gabriela Ruse, +18 to No.124: The former No.51 Ruse reached her second WTA 125 semifinal of the season in Hamburg last week.
Marina Stakusic, +17 to No.143: The 19-year-old Canadian won the first WTA 1000 match of her career as a wild card last week in Toronto and hits a new career high.
Giorgia Pedone, +22 to No.257: The 19-year-old Italian won her first ITF W50 title in Zagreb last week to rise to a new career high. Pedone made her WTA main-draw debut as a wild card in Rome this year.
Patricia Maria Tig, +19 to No.293: Since May, former No.56 Tig has compiled a 35-5 record in ITF tournaments in her native Romania, including four titles and two finals. The 30-year-old was ranked No.704 this time last year.
Kristina Dmitruk, +213 to No.636: The 2021 US Open girls' finalist reached a career high of No.216 in May 2023 but was sidelined for nine months before returning to action this May. Two weeks ago, the 20-year-old won the first title of her comeback at the Mohammedia ITF W35 event.
