The Hologic WTA Tour moved back to North American hard courts last week, with a WTA 500 in Merida and a 250-level event in Austin taking place ahead of this month's Sunshine Double.
Both events were won by American top seeds. Emma Navarro claimed her second career title and first at WTA 500 level, in Merida. In this week's edition of the PIF WTA Rankings, she moves back up two places to equal her career high of No. 8. In Austin, Jessica Pegula captured her seventh career title and holds steady at No. 4.
This week's most significant ranking milestones were notched by two players who qualified for Merida, delivered career-best results and entered the Top 100 for the first time. Emiliana Arango was already in strong form after winning the Cancun WTA 125 title two weeks earlier, and she extended her winning streak to 11 by reaching her first tour-level final in Merida before falling to Navarro.
This isn't the first time Arango has excelled on Mexican hard courts. In 2023, she reached her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal in Guadalajara. She rose as high as No. 109 in November of that year. But she had fallen to No. 234 by last October -- only to rocket back up the rankings with a remarkable resurgence over the past three months.
This week, Arango soars 33 places from No. 133 to No. 80. The 24-year-old becomes the sixth Colombian player in rankings history to reach the Top 100, following Isabella Fernandez Diaz, Fabiola Zuluaga, Catalina Castaño, Mariana Duque-Mariño and Camila Osorio.
Photos: All the Top 100 breakthroughs of 2025
Australia's Maya Joint also shined in Merida, posting her first Top 20 win -- over Donna Vekic -- to reach her first WTA 500 quarterfinal. The 18-year-old rises 18 places from No. 103 to enter the Top 100 at No. 85, joining 11th-ranked Mirra Andreeva as the only two teenagers in the Top 100.
Joint was ranked No. 1,371 in October 2023, but over the following 12 months, she cut her ranking to No. 110. In 2025, she has brought that form to tour level, reaching her first WTA semifinal in Hobart in January prior to her Merida run. Joint is the first 2006-born player to crack the Top 100.
Other notable rankings movements
Ekaterina Alexandrova, +2 to No. 19: Alexandrova was not in action last week, but enjoyed an excellent February that included a title in Linz and semifinal in Doha. She returns to the Top 20 for the first time since June.
Rebecca Sramkova, +3 to No. 37: Sramkova notched her fifth career Top 20 win over Beatriz Haddad Maia en route to her first WTA 500 quarterfinal in Merida. She reaches a new career high.
Elina Avanesyan, +6 to No. 39: Avanesyan reached her second semifinal of 2025, and first of her career at WTA 500 level, in Merida. The Armenian enters the Top 40 for the first time.
McCartney Kessler, +8 to No. 48: The runner-up in Austin, Kessler has now reached three WTA finals -- winning two -- in the past six months. The 25-year-old returns to the Top 50, and is one spot off her career high of No. 47.
Zeynep Sonmez, +11 to No. 77: Merida may have been upgraded from WTA 250 to WTA 500 level, but it was still a happy hunting ground for defending champion Sonmez. The Turkish 22-year-old extended her winning streak in Merida to seven matches to reach her first WTA 500 quarterfinal before falling to Navarro and hits a new career high.
Ajla Tomljanovic, +17 to No. 94: Austin semifinalist Tomljanovic was the only player to take a set from Pegula all week. The Australian returns to the Top 100 for the first time since November.
Antonia Ruzic, +13 to No. 131: The 22-year-old Croat won her first ITF W75 title last week in Trnava, and rises to a new career high. Ruzic extended her record in professional finals to 11-3.
Ena Shibahara, +14 to No.134: Former doubles No. 4 Shibahara's transition to singles took another step forward in Austin, where she qualified and reached her first WTA quarterfinal.
Victoria Mboko, +24 to No.188: The 18-year-old Canadian won her first 22 matches and four tournaments of 2025 without dropping a set, with her Manchester ITF W35 title two weeks ago pushing her into the Top 200 for the first time. Mboko's streak was ended by Raluka Serban in the Macon ITF W50 first round last week.
Sinja Kraus, +33 to No. 191: Kraus, 22, claimed the Macon ITF W50 title to return to the Top 200 for the first time since October.
Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah, +48 to No. 299: The 18-year-old Frenchwoman reached the Macon ITF W50 final as a qualifier and enters the Top 300 for the first time.
Park Sohyun, +62, to No. 316: The South Korean 22-year-old won her first ITF W50 last week in Ahmedabad, upsetting top seed Arina Rodionova in the final.
Elizara Yaneva, +169 to No. 768: Junior No. 10 Yaneva is unbeaten at pro level so far in 2025. Two weeks ago, the 17-year-old Bulgarian won her second consecutive ITF W15 title in Manacor to extend her winning streak to 10.
Kaja Juvan, +261 to No. 845: Former No. 58 Juvan was sidelined for 12 months following the 2024 Australian Open. She returned to action in January and, in her third tournament back, qualified for Austin.
Jana Kovackova, UNR to No. 1158: Junior No. 12 Kovackova reached the final in her first ever pro tournament two weeks ago in Sharm el Sheikh. The 14-year-old Czech is now the youngest player on the rankings list.
