Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka returned to World No. 1 in the latest WTA rankings, dropping Polish star Iga Swiatek to No. 2.
Sabalenka, a three-time Grand Slam champion, including this year’s U.S. Open, spent eight weeks at No. 1 last year. Swiatek had been No. 1 for the past 11 months.
Although neither player was in action last week, Sabalenka garnered the top spot on the strength of playing more WTA 500 events than Swiatek.
WTA rules require players to participate in a minimum number of tournaments and are docked points if they don’t fulfill these requirements. Neither has played the mandatory six WTA 500 events, but Sabalenka comes out on top by virtue of having played four to Swiatek’s two.
The rest of the top 5 remained unchanged, with Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula and Elena Rybakina in those spots. Daria Kasatkina jumped into the top 10 at ninth, relegating Danielle Collins to No. 11.
–Field Level Media
