Rankings Watch: Sabalenka closing in on Swiatek for No.1 spot

The final WTA 1000 event of 2024 took place last week, with the Hologic WTA Tour returning to Wuhan for the first time since 2019. Top seed Aryna Sabalenka picked up where she left off, adding to her 2018 and 2019 titles to successfully pull off the three-peat, beating home hope Zheng Qinwen in the final.

Sabalenka and Zheng hold their positions at No.2 and No.7, respectively, in this week's edition of the PIF WTA Rankings. However, Sabalenka is now only 69 points behind No.1 Iga Swiatek, meaning the year-end No.1 ranking will be on the line at the WTA Finals Riyadh in three weeks' time.

Coco Gauff moves up one to No.3 after the Beijing champion extended her winning streak to nine by reaching the Wuhan semifinals. Meanwhile, Beatriz Haddad Maia climbs two to No.10 after making the final 16 in Wuhan and returning to the Top 10 for the first time since June 2023. Anna Kalinskaya, who made the second round of Wuhan, inches up one to a new career high of No.12.

Surprise unseeded semifinalist Wang Xinyu, who upset Jessica Pegula to make the last four of a WTA 1000 event for the first time, jumps 12 spots to No.39 -- seven spots off the career high of No.32 she set in October 2023.

New career highs for Frech, Baptiste, Danilovic

With impressive wins last week, Magdalena Frech, Hailey Baptiste and Olga Danilovic all reached new career highs. Frech reached the first WTA 1000 quarterfinal of her career in Wuhan and moves up three to No.24 to enter the Top 25 for the first time. Frech, who won her first WTA title in Guadalara last month, has won 10 of her past 12 matches.

Baptiste posted the first Top 10 of her career, upsetting Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova in the second round of Wuhan, and climbs 22 places to No.80.

Meanwhile, Danilovic claimed the Cornellà de Llobregat ITF W100 title in Spain without dropping a set and jumps 17 spots to No.86. Danilovic first cracked the Top 100 in September 2018 and reached her previous peak of No.93 in June 2023.

Slovak juniors turn heads on home soil

The Bratislava ITF W75 event last week saw two eye-catching performances by Slovak junior wild cards Mia Pohankova and Renata Jamrichova, who both soar up to new career highs.

Australian Open and Wimbledon junior champion Jamrichova, 17, reached her biggest final to date and jumps 101 places to No.367. However, it was 15-year-old Pohankova who took the title. Pohankova was playing only the third professional tournament of her career but notched her first Top 100 win over top seed Oceane Dodin in the semifinals before overcoming Jamrichova 2-6, 6-4, 6-2. Pohankova rockets up 448 spots from No.962 to No.514.

College standouts thrive in Oklahoma

The Edmond ITF W75 event last week was dominated by players who have come through the U.S. college system. Former top-ranked NCAA player Mary Stoiana, who plays for Texas A&M University, took the title -- the first of her pro career -- and rises 158 places to No.320. The 21-year-old American is a former NCAA Division I No.1.

Former NC State player Alana Smith, 24, qualified and reached her biggest pro final to date via a second-round upset of former Top 50 player Viktoria Hruncakova. Smith climbs 105 places to No.394.

This year's NCAA Championships runner-up, Anastasiya Lopata, made the semifinals in just her third pro event this season. The 19-year-old Ukrainian, who plays for the University of Georgia, is boosted 380 places to No.735.