WTA Rankings: Sabalenka 11th on longest streak list, Starodubtseva +36, Kenin -19
Aryna Sabalenka has started her 77th consecutive week at No 1 in the rankings while Yuliia Starodubtseva, Panna Udvardy and Emiliana Arango were among the big winners.
Four-time Grand Slam winner Sabalenka has been top of the WTA Rankings since 21 October 2024 when she replaced Iga Swiatek and her overall tally for weeks at No 1 now sits at 85, putting her 11th on the all-time list for most weeks.
The Belarusian – who has been the standout player on the WTA Tour in recent weeks as she won the Sunshine Double with trophies in Indian Wells and Miami – is also 11th for the most consecutive weeks at the top with her 77th week helping her to move past Chris Evert’s total of 76 while she is now just three behind Martina Hingis in 10th place.
However, Evert is also fifth on the list as her longest-ever streak was 113 weeks while Steffi Graf and Serena Williams top the list with 186.
Sabalenka, though, is set to move up a few more places as she is guaranteed to remain top for another couple of weeks as she currently has a 2,917-point lead over second-placed Elena Rybakina with Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek a distant third and fourth, respectively.
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There were no changes in the top 10 of the WTA Rankings with Jessica Pegula the only player in action last week and she managed to successfully defend her Charleston Open title so she remains at No 5.
Belinda Bencic reached the quarter-final in Charleston and she is up one place to No 11 while Madison Keys was a semi-finalist and she also gets a one-spot boost to No 17.
But the biggest fairytale story of the week was produced by Starodubtseva as the Ukrainian reached her maiden final by beating Keys before losing 6-2, 6-2 against Pegula.
She started the WTA 500 event at No 89 in the rankings, but her run to the final has resulted in a 36-place surge to a new high of No 53.
Colombia hosted the other WTA event last week as the Copa Colsanitas took place in Bogota and Panna Udvardy reached her maiden top-level final, finishing runner-up to Marie Bouzkova to earn a 21-place jump to No 71.
Emiliana Arango lost in the semi-final, but she is up 20 spots to No 86.
Two-time defending champion Camila Osorio lost in the second round and, as a result, she is down 27 places to No 81 while 2020 Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin was another big dropper as the American slipped 19 spots to No 66 after losing in the round of 16 in Charleston.
WTA Top 20
1. Aryna Sabalenka – 11,025
2. Elena Rybakina Kazakhstan – 8,108
3. Coco Gauff United States – 7,278
4. Iga Swiatek Poland – 7,263
5. Jessica Pegula United States – 6,243
6. Amanda Anisimova United States – 5,995
7. Elina Svitolina Ukraine – 3,965
8. Jasmine Paolini Italy – 3,907
9. Victoria Mboko Canada – 3,531
10. Mirra Andreeva – 3,121
11. Belinda Bencic Switzerland – 3,090 (+1)
12. Karolina Muchova Czechia – 2,993 (-1)
13. Ekaterina Alexandrova – 2,886
14. Linda Noskova Czechia – 2,801
15. Naomi Osaka Japan – 2,324
16. Iva Jovic United States – 2,270
17. Madison Keys United States – 2,161 (+1)
18. Clara Tauson Denmark – 2,040 (-1)
19. Diana Shnaider – 2,001
20. Elise Mertens Belgium – 1,906