Comebacks and fresh faces stood out last week on the Hologic WTA Tour across the Abu Dhabi WTA 500, Cluj-Napoca WTA 250 and Mumbai WTA 125.
Belinda Bencic delivered a remarkable title run in Abu Dhabi. Only 10 months after giving birth to her daughter, Bella, the former World No. 4 returned to familiar territory in Abu Dhabi, where she had last won a trophy in 2023. Bencic returned to action in October, playing three tournaments across ITF and WTA 125 level (as well as the Billie Jean King Cup playoffs). But Abu Dhabi marked just the fourth tournament of her return to tour level in 2025.
A wild card ranked No. 157, Bencic's run included the second tour-level 6-0, 6-0 win of her career (over Veronika Kudermetova in the second round) and her first Top 5 victory since April 2023 over defending champion Elena Rybakina in the semifinals. Bencic, who now owns a perfect 9-0 record in Abu Dhabi, soars 92 places to No. 65 seven months after exiting the Top 100 in July.
Bencic wasn't the only Swiss player on the comeback trail last week. In Mumbai, Jil Teichmann claimed her second WTA 125 title in the past six months. She returns to the Top 100 with a 17-spot jump to No. 100. Teichmann reached her career high of No. 21 in July 2022 but slumped out of the Top 100 the following June and had fallen to No. 230 last May.
In Cluj-Napoca, No. 1 seed Anastasia Potapova won her third career title and climbs one place to No. 31.
Finalists Krueger, Bronzetti make moves
Originally awarded a wild card in Abu Dhabi, Ashlyn Krueger ended up being the last direct main-draw acceptance. Despite that, the American powered past a succession of higher-ranked opponents -- Daria Kasatkina, Leylah Fernandez and fellow 20-year-old Linda Noskova -- to reach her second career WTA final -- and first at WTA 500 level. Krueger returns to the Top 50 and hits a new career high with an 11-spot leap to No. 40.
In Cluj-Napoca, Lucia Bronzetti faced Simona Halep in what turned out to be the former World No. 1’s final match, then made her way to her fourth career final.
Bronzetti has now played WTA finals on three surfaces (clay, grass and indoor hard courts). She rises 16 places to No. 56 this week.
Teenagers Sonobe, Rajeshwaran Revathi turn heads
Two brand new faces delivered eye-catching performances last week. Australian Open junior champion Wakana Sonobe, 17, qualified for her first WTA main draw in Abu Dhabi and made the second round, notching her first two Top 100 victories over Hailey Baptiste and Yuan Yue. The big-hitting Japanese teenager soars 373 places from No. 837 to No. 464.
In Mumbai, 15-year-old Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi started the tournament as a qualifying wild card. The unranked Indian schoolgirl, playing the fifth pro event of her career, went all the way to the semifinals. Rajeshwaran Revathi enters the rankings at No. 646. She is the youngest player in the Top 700 and the third-highest born in 2009 (following Julieta Pareja and Hannah Klugman).
Other notable rankings movements
Madison Keys, +1 to No. 6: The Australian Open champion didn’t compete last week but climbed to a new career high after Elena Rybakina dropped her 2024 Abu Dhabi champion points and fell to No. 7.
Linda Noskova, +6 to No. 33: Noskova's run to the Abu Dhabi semifinals was highlighted by a 6-4, 6-1 rout of Paula Badosa, her first Top 10 win since last April.
Kimberly Birrell, +11 to No. 75: The Australian maintained her strong January performances on home soil, winning the Brisbane ITF W75 to reach a new career high.
Aliaksandra Sasnovich, +15 to No. 113: Sasnovich enjoyed a wild run to the Cluj-Napoca semifinals. The 30-year-old fell in qualifying to Sara Sorribes Tormo, got into the main draw as a lucky loser, saved five match points against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the first round and edged Anhelina Kalinina in a third-set tiebreak in the quarterfinals.
Mananchaya Sawangkaew, +6 to No. 115: The 22-year-old Thai reached her first WTA 125 final in Mumbai and hits a new career high.
Gao Xinyu, +11 to No. 127: The 27-year-old opened her season as an unexpected United Cup heroine for China and has kept her form going since. Gao reached the Leszno ITF W75 final last week and rises to a new career high.
Ella Seidel, +14 to No. 129: Last week in Cluj-Napoca, the 19-year-old big-hitting German notched her fifth and sixth Top 100 wins (over Jaqueline Cristian and Anna Blinkova) to reach her third tour-level quarterfinal.
Elsa Jacquemot, +13 to No. 140: One week after reaching the Andrézieux-Bouthéon ITF W75 final, Jacquemot went won better to take the Leszno ITF W75 title. The Frenchwoman now owns a 12-3 record in 2025.
Francesca Jones, +8 to No. 146: Since reaching her previous peak of No. 149 in February 2022, Jones -- who suffers from ectodermal dysplasia syndrome -- has endured an array of injury issues. But the 24-year-old Briton has now exceeded that career high after qualifying for Cluj-Napoca.
Nikola Bartunkova, +45 to No. 410: Returning from a six-month doping suspension this year, the 18-year-old Czech has compiled a 12-2 record. Three weeks ago, she took the Sunderland ITF W35 title and followed that by making the Glasgow ITF W35 final.
