The latest edition of the PIF WTA Rankings marks another significant milestone in Iga Swiatek's all-time great career. The five-time Grand Slam champion has now been ranked at World No.1 for 117 weeks overall, tying the total set by Justine Henin in the 2000s.
Swiatek and Henin are now tied in eighth place for total weeks at No.1 since the introduction of computer rankings in 1975. Swiatek can tie Ashleigh Barty (in seventh place with 121 weeks) if she remains at the top spot for the next four weeks. Only six players have tallied more weeks as World No.1 than Barty: Monica Seles (178 weeks), Martina Hingis (209 weeks), Chris Evert (260 weeks), Serena Williams (319 weeks), Martina Navratilova (332 weeks) and Stefanie Graf (377 weeks).
Seven-time Grand Slam champion Henin first ascended to No.1 at the age of 21 in October 2003, the year she won her first two major titles at Roland Garros and the US Open. She notched her 117th and final week at the summit at the age of 26 in May 2008, the month she retired for the first time. Henin was ranked No.1 at the time of her retirement, and cut short her total number of weeks by requesting her immediate removal from the rankings.
Swiatek, who tied Henin's total of four Roland Garros trophies this year, first reached No.1 at the age of 19 in April 2022.
Sabalenka returns to No.2, Badosa returns to Top 30
Last week, the Hologic WTA Tour landed in Cincinnati for the eighth WTA 1000 tournament of the season -- and the theme of the week was bouncing back from injury. Both finalists have missed chunks of the 2024 season, but have found their best form just ahead of the US Open next week.
A shoulder injury had forced Aryna Sabalenka to miss Wimbledon, causing her ranking to slip to No.3. Upon returning, the Australian Open champion fell to players ranked outside the Top 30 -- Marie Bouzkova and Amanda Anisimova -- in Washington and Toronto respectively. However, on the fast courts of Cincinnati, Sabalenka powered her way to her 15th career title without dropping a set, and returns to No.2 just in time to nab that seeded position in Flushing Meadows.
Jessica Pegula's own health issues had sidelined the American during the clay season, and her form on return was patchy. There was a first grass-court title in Berlin, but second-round exits in 's-Hertogenbosch, Eastbourne, Wimbledon and the Paris Olympic Games. Back on her favored hard courts, though, Pegula put together a nine-match winning streak as she backed up her Toronto title two weeks ago with a run to the Cincinnati final. Pegula remains at No.6 this week.
The North American hard courts have also provided a boost for former No.2 Paula Badosa, who missed the second half of 2023 due to a back injury and had slipped to No.140 in May. Her semifinal run in Cincinnati last week marked the first time she had made the last four of a WTA 1000 tournament since Indian Wells 2022, and she rises another 10 places to No.27.
Though Badosa's return from injury stuttered at the start of the year -- the Spaniard lost nine of her first 15 matches back, including three retirements -- she has been trending upwards since Rome. Badosa will head into the US Open having won 20 of her past 26 matches.
Shnaider, Andreeva, Townsend, Avanesyan, Krueger hit new career highs
Strong performances in Cincinnati have led to new career-high rankings for a quintet of players.
Diana Shnaider, fresh off cracking the Top 20 for the first time last week, is up another two to No.18 after reaching the third round
Mirra Andreeva notched her fourth Top 10 win of the season (over Jasmine Paolini) to make her third quarterfinal of 2024 at WTA 1000 level or above. The 17-year-old climbs three to No.21.
Taylor Townsend, a quarterfinalist in Toronto two weeks ago, qualified and took out Daria Kasatkina for her seventh career Top 20 win. The 28-year-old American's third-round run means that she makes her Top 50 debut this week, climbing five to No.46.
Elina Avanesyan has historically posted some of her best results as a lucky loser, and the 21-year-old did it again in Cincinnati. Playing under the Armenian flag for the first time, Avanesyan tallied her sixth career Top 20 win with a defeat of Jelena Ostapenko to reach the third round, and moves up seven spots to No.51.
Ashlyn Krueger scored a pair of big-name wins, taking out former World No.1 Naomi Osaka in the final qualifying round before triumphing over Olympic silver medallist Donna Vekic in a three-hour first-round marathon. The 20-year-old American's second-round run bumps her up four to No.61.
Other notable rankings movements
Jelena Ostapenko, +1 to No.10: The Latvian fell in the second round of Cincinnati, but re-enters the Top 10 due to Danielle Collins's second-round points from 2023 dropping off.
Nadia Podoroska, +21 to No.67: Former Roland Garros semifinalist Podoroska snapped an eight-match losing streak in style last week, claiming her third career WTA 125 title (and second of 2024) in Barranquilla.
Nuria Parrizas Diaz, +19 to No.99: Former No.45 Parrizas Diaz is on a 10-match winning streak after winning ITF W100 titles in Gran Canaria and, last week, in Cary. The 33-year-old Spaniard returns to the Top 100 for the first time since May 2023.
Sonay Kartal, +12 to No.163: Following her third-round run as a qualifier at Wimbledon, Kartal ran through two consecutive ITF W35 tournaments down the road in Roehampton without dropping a set. The Briton is at a new career high, and has already extended her winning streak to 11 with a first-round win in US Open qualifying.
Antonia Ruzic, +14 to No.171: The 21-year-old Croat reached her first WTA 125 semifinal in Barranquilla last week, but was forced to withdraw due to an abdominal injury. Ruzic nonetheless reaches a new career high this week.
Elena Pridankina, +49 to No.195: The 18-year-old makes her Top 200 debut after winning the biggest title of her career to date at last week's Amstetten ITF W75. Pridankina, a former Top 30 junior, started 2024 ranked No.345; her season record so far is 36-14, and includes three further ITF finals.
Anastasiia Sobolieva, +16 to No.200: A first WTA 125 semifinal run in Barranquilla last week sees the 20-year-old Ukrainian enter the Top 200 for the first time. Sobolieva notched her first Top 100 win over Lucia Bronzetti at the Bari WTA 125 event in May.
Alina Charaeva, +30 to No.245: The 2019 Roland Garros junior finalist won her first ITF W50 title last week in Ourense. Charaeva, 22, rises to a new career high.
Lola Radivojevic, +77 to No.273: The 19-year-old Serb snapped a six-match losing streak to collect the biggest title of her career to date at last week's Kursumlijska Banja ITF W75. Radivojevic -- who hit her peak ranking so far of No.244 in July 2023 -- also won an ITF W35 event at the same venue in May.
Lucciana Perez Alarcon, +88 to No.504: Just over two months ago, Perez Alarcon was ranked outside the Top 1000. The 19-year-old Peruvian, who was the 2023 Roland Garros junior finalist and who now attends Texas A&M University, won 25 of her first 29 pro matches of the season, culminating in her first ITF W35 title in Chacabuco two weeks ago.
