Iga Swiatek, you just won your first Wimbledon title! Your rewards include the Venus Rosewater Dish, more than $4 million in prize money, and a return to the top three in the PIF WTA Rankings.
Swiatek had dropped to No. 7 – her worst ranking in four years - after a subpar clay-court season (by her standards). She lost another spot in the first weeks of June and was the No. 8 seed at Wimbledon. She's back to No. 3 with her triumph at the All-England Club.
Aryna Sabalenka not only maintained a comfortable lead at No. 1 but has already clinched a spot in the WTA's year-end championships! Sabalenka actually increased her advantage over No. 2 Coco Gauff by reaching the Wimbledon semifinals while Gauff lost in the first round. Sabalenka has now held the top spot for 46 weeks, the 14th-best total of all time.
How did Iga Swiatek's Wimbledon victory affect the WTA rankings?
Who moved up the WTA rankings during the grass-court season?
Swiatek’s opponents from the Wimbledon final and semifinal also made significant moves up the rankings. Amanda Anisimova, who beat Sabalenka in the semifinals before falling to Swiatek in the final, still can celebrate a career-best ranking of No. 7 after starting the grass-court season at No. 15.
Belinda Bencic, who reached the semifinals before falling to Swiatek, is up to No. 20 after starting the grass-court season at No. 36. Laura Siegmund made the biggest move within the top 100. She parlayed a quarterfinal run at Wimbledon into a new ranking of No. 54 – up 52 spots since the start of the grass-court season.
Who moved down?
Barbora Krejčíková would have needed to repeat as Wimbledon champion to keep her spot in the top 20, as most of her ranking points were from her 2024 title at the All-England Club. Instead, Krejčíková’s third-round exit this year resulted in a drop of 62 spots to No. 78.
Who’s about to rise?
Ashlyn Krueger, a 21-year-old American, has quietly climbed to No. 29 in the world after starting the year outside the top 50, and she isn’t defending too many points during the summer hard-court season. A few solid finishes could push Krueger into the top 20 for the first time.
Who could fall?
There might be some fast risers between now and the U.S. Open, but, barring injury, don’t expect any free-fallers. The players with the most points to defend – most notably reigning U.S. Open champion Sabalenka, 2024 U.S. Open runner-up Jessica Pegula, and 2024 semifinalists Emma Navarro and Paula Badosa – have enough points built up that a summer slump wouldn’t cost them too many spots in the rankings.
8 years ago this happened
This week in 2017, Karolina Pliskova began her 55-day reign at No. 1. Pliskova is one of three players who have ascended to No. 1 in the WTA rankings without ever winning a major title.