WTA Rankings Update: Aryna Sabalenka Survives Coco Gauff Scare to Secure No. 2 Spot as Madison Keys Witnesses Rare High

The Madrid Open has concluded, and we have the names of the winners. Iga Swiatek managed to take revenge from Aryna Sabalenka for the 2023 final and won her first Spanish clay Masters. For the Polish player, nothing has changed when it comes to the WTA rankings. Before the tournament began, she was at the top and is still 3000 points above 2nd place.

However, major changes unfolded during the Madrid Open. Now that the tournament has concluded, Sabalenka narrowly avoided humiliation from Coco Gauff, regaining her ranking, while Madison Keys experienced a significant surge. 

Aryna Sabalenka

The Belarusian beauty had a turbulent time after winning the Australian Open, throwing doubt on her form for the rest of the year. Saba had already lost many points as she could not recreate the 2023 runs of the hard court swing in 2024. But Madrid fared well for her as she played as the defending champion and found her form. In the Madrid Open, Saba faced some difficulty, but the Tiger stood firm in ousting her opponents.

She beat Magda Linette 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, Robin Montgomery 6-1, 6-7, 6-4, Danielle Collins 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, Mirra Andreeva 6-1, 6-4 and Elena Rybakina 1-6, 7-5, 7-6. Sabalenka managed several impressive comebacks but couldn’t defend her title from 2023. Before the semifinal, Saba fell to rank 3 and saw Coco Gauff usurp her throne.

However, defeating Andreeva and then coming back after being breadsticked by Rybakina worked well in her favor to reclaim rank 2. She currently amasses 7498 points, 3412 points behind Swiatek. 

Madison Keys

Keys showed fantastic tennis as she ran to the semifinal in the 2023 US Open. The American player played in two more tournaments but had to go on a hiatus due to a shoulder injury. She returned to play in the Indian Wells Masters, Miami Open, and the Charleston Open but couldn’t display impressive results. However, Madrid became her lifeline.

She beat Coco Gauff on her favorite surface, 7-6, 4-6, 6-4, and then went on to beat Ons Jabeur in the quarterfinal, despite being bageled in the first set. Madison Keys won 0-6, 7-5, 6-1. Facing Swiatek in the semifinal did not bode well for her as she would lose in straight sets, 1-6, 3-6. The 29-year-old accumulated 390 points from her run, which helped her jump from rank 20 to rank 16, steadily making her way back to the top 15.

Other changes in the WTA table

Jasmine Paolini ran to the round of 16 in Madrid, which helped her achieve a new career-high ranking of 12. Similarly, Marta Kostyuk, after losing in the round of 64, climbed to rank 20, a new career-high ranking. Veronika Kudermetova dropped 6 spots after losing in the round of 64 to now sit at 25. Maria Sakkari also dropped by two spots to rank 8 after losing to Beatriz Haddad Maia in the round of 16.

Marketa Vondrousova and Qinwen Zheng reclaimed their career-high rankings of 6 and 7, respectively. Vondrousova was eliminated in the round of 32, while Zheng exited in the round of 64.

The Italian Open gives a small break to the players of women’s tennis before they have to battle for their spots in the table once again. How will they fare? What changes are we likely to see in the tournament?