–
A lot of players made moves during this now-complete Sunshine Swing. And this rankings update reflects the last two weeks of tournaments elsewhere.
But the biggest winner was already No. 1 – Aryna Sabalenka became only the second player in the last decade on the women’s side (after Iga Swiatek in 2022) to win both ends of it.
That’s a tough thing to do. And Sabalenka only burnished her spot at the top of the game.
On the positive side, Coco Gauff made the final, after a rare retirement at Indian Wells because of a nerve problem in her arm. It will paper over a lot of struggles, and despite her fighting spirit getting her a set in the final, she was outplayed both tactically, and in execution.
Coco Gauff (USA): No. 4 ============> No. 3
(Gauff’s run to the Miami final bumps Iga Swiatek down to No. 4 in the rankings, by about 15 points).
Karolina Muchova (CZE): No. 14 ============> No. 11
(Muchova would have returned to the top 10 but her inability to make ANY kind of a dent against Gauff means she is up to No. 11. Still, a good run to the semifinals in Miami).
Emma Navarro (USA): No. 27 ============> No. 25
(Navarro didn’t play Miami and won’t play her hometown event in Charleston, either. She moves up because Emma Raducanu and Marta Kostyuk lost ground).
Sorana Cirstea (ROU): No. 35 ============> No. 29
(Cirstea’s final year is going gangbusters, as she has a nice run in Miami and loved it there so much, she stuck around to be Team Bencic from the players’ box. She’s back in the top 30 for the first time since before 2024 Wimbledon, and could be looking at a seed for her final Roland Garros. Before Wimbledon last year, Cirstea was at No. 169).
Hailey Baptiste (USA): No. 45 ============> No. 33
(A new career high for the American, who slowly has been growing into her game and potential at 24. A quarterfinal result and a credible loss to the eventual champion).
Talia Gibson (AUS): No. 68 ============> No. 56
(Gibson, 21, came into the Sunshine Swing ranked No. 112. She leaves it at a career high No. 56 after qualifying and making the fourth round in Miami. Other than champion Sabalenka, she made the most of the month in the U.S.).
Anastasia Zakharova (RUS): No. 74 ============> No. 66
(The 24-year-old Russian qualified and made the third round in Miami).
Yuliia Starodubtseva (UKR): No. 108 ============> No. 89
(The Ukrainian got herself back into the top 100 and should be straight into Roland Garros after qualifying and reaching the third round in Miami. She squeezed into the main draw in Charleston at the last minute).
Daria Snigur (UKR): No. 110 ============> No. 93
(Snigur, 24, has marched pretty much unnoticed through her career. But that top-100 barrier had always just escaped her. Until now. After losing in the first round of an ITF last week she wins the high-level ITF in Murska Sobota final this week).
Hanne Vandewinkel (BEL): No. 104 ============> No. 96
(The Belgian was one of the players who opted to stay in Europe rather than try her luck in the Miami qualifying. It worked out; she made the final at a high-level ITF in Maribor, Slovenia and is into the top 100 for the first time).
Alycia Parks (USA): No. 105 ============> No. 97
(Parks gets back into the top 100 with a run to the third round in Miami. Had she had more belief and more consistency, she might well have stopped Gauff right there. But it wasn’t to be. She also rocked her Wilson dress to a championshp level).
Wang Xiyu (CHN): No. 226 ============> No. 179
(Wang, whose career high of No. 49 came in Jan. 2023 but who has missed some big chunks of time recently due to injury, is back and won one ITF in Ma’anshan two weeks ago, and won another on Sunday. They were her first tournaments since early November last year.
–
–
Iva Jovic (USA) (No. 16)
Hailey Baptiste (USA) (No. 33)
Talia Gibson (AUS) (No. 56)
Anastasia Zakharova (RUS) (No. 66)
Daria Snigur (UKR) (No. 93)
Nikola Bartunkova (CZE) (No. 95)
Hanne Vandewinkel (BEL) (No. 96)
Lilli Tagger (AUT) (No. 108)
Emerson Jones (AUS) (No. 136)
Elvina Kalieva (USA) (No. 143)
Julieta Pareja (USA) (No. 269)
–
–
Iga Swiatek (POL): No. 3 ============> No. 4
(Currently coachless after splitting with Wim Fissette, Swiatek was a shock loser in her opening match in Miami. She hasn’t been at No. 4 since last June).
Ekaterina Alexandrova (RUS): No. 11 ============> No. 13
(Alexandrova, who’s been quiet this season, lost in the third round and so couldn’t back up her great Miami run from a year ago). ****** Singles semi in Charleston last year***
Emma Raducanu (GBR): No. 23 ============> No. 28
(Who knows what’s going on with Team Emma. She didn’t play Miami and so drops nearly 200 points from last year’s quarterfinal result).
Zheng Qinwen (CHN): No. 26 ============> No. 30
(Zheng is just coming back, so there will be some points dropped. But she played well in getting to the fourth round in Miami).
Maria Sakkari (GRE): No. 33 ============> No. 36
(Sakkari climbed into a seeded spot after a couple of withdrawals, but couldn’t make it count as she lost her opener to Parks).
Alexandra Eala (PHI): No. 29 ============> No. 45
(After climbing into the top 30, it was going to be a temporary state of affairs with Eala defending semifinalist’s points in Miami. She made the fourth round, which was good work. But was outclassed by Muchova).
Taylor Townsend (USA): No. 80 ============> No. 90
(Townsend got a wild card into Miami in singles but lost in the second round. She was vying for the doubles title with Katerina Siniakova on Sunday and despite relocation and rain, got it done. That completes the Sunshine Double Double for this pair with the loss of just one set in 10 matches – to Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski and her partner Luisa Stefani in the Miami semis).
Paula Badosa (ESP): No. 100 ============> No. 113
(Badosa is still trying to get it back. But she loses in the second round in Miami and drops some more. He made the fourth round last year, when she beat No. 162-ranked Victoria Mboko in a third-set tiebreak in her opener).
Danielle Collins (USA): No. 99 ============> No. 120
(Collins made plenty of virtual ink off the court with her sorties on Tennis Channel. But she’s not playing, so she drops her points from making the fourth round a year ago. And she has a quarterfinal in Charleston to defend next week).
Linda Fruhvirtova (CZE): No. 121 ============> No. 144
(Fruhvirtova qualified in Miami, but lost in the first round. A year ago, she also qualified but made the third round).
–
About Post Author
