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Did you enjoy the first 1000-level event of the North American hard-court swing? I certainly did, and I must say, Jessica Pegula deserved to take the title. After coming into the event as the number 4 seed, she upset the odds and went all the way to the finals before capturing the trophy in style. Yet despite the title run, Pegula has remained put as of the most recent WTA rankings updates issued today (Monday, August 14th). That’s right – despite winning a 1000-level tournament, she has remained world number 3.
Therefore, when it comes to the biggest movement in the WTA rankings this week, we must look further afield. On that note, as you’ll soon find out, many of the week’s biggest movers were involved in the Canadian Open. Yet due to the rankings system, the players that made the biggest moves were all outside of the world’s top 10. Additionally, while the Canadian Open served as the tournament with the most points available, there was also a WTA 125 event played in Poland last week.
So while all eyes were on North America, some players were getting busy over in Europe and racking up the points. As for who has moved where, let’s get into it, shall we?
WTA rankings updates – week commencing August 14th
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When it comes to the WTA rankings shifts that we’ve witnessed this week, it hasn’t actually been quite as drastic as it has been recently. I say that because some of my WTA rankings updates have highlighted the movement of more than 40 and 50 positions for certain players in recent times. These are obviously enormous adaptations in the rankings ladder. Yet this week, the biggest swing we’ve seen is a movement of 18 spots.
With that in mind, as I do each week, I’ve showcased and discussed the biggest movers of the week for the WTA rankings right here.
The week’s biggest climbers
The biggest mover in the green zone this week has realized a gain of 14 rankings positions. So yes, you’ve guessed it – the player with the 18-place movement is, unfortunately, in the dreaded red zone. But before we get to that, let’s look closely at the three biggest gainers in the WTA rankings this week.
Danielle Collins: +14
It just so happens that the biggest riser of the week this week has moved by the exact same number of positions as the other two players. As you can see, the player I am listing first is Danielle Collins. She was involved in the Canadian Open last week, and in impressive fashion, she qualified and then went on to reach the quarter-finals. This is pretty huge considering that she’s still making her way back from injury. And as a result, she has jumped 14 positions to number 34 in the world.
Xinyu Wang: +14
Also moving by exactly 14 places up the ladder, we have Xinyu Wang. Yet for this player, she didn’t actually compete in either of the WTA level events last week. Instead, Wang decided to compete in the ITF event held in Pennsylvania. Ultimately, she won five matches to take the title, and she has climbed to 57 in the rankings by maximizing the points available from that tournament.
Greet Minnen: +14
For the third and final climber of the week, I’d like to introduce a player that many fans might not be familiar with. As you can see, this player is Greet Minnen – a 26-year-old from Belgium. She’s actually been around for quite some time, yet she’s struggled to establish herself inside the WTA top 100. But last week, Minnen gave herself a huge boost by reaching the final of the Polish Open. This has added plenty of points to her cumulative tally, and she’s now inside the top hundred by jumping 14 positions to number 99.
The week’s biggest fallers
If you recall from the information shared above, the biggest mover in the WTA rankings this week is found in the red zone. Therefore, I will now take you through the players that are sliding down the rankings based on the latest update.
Yulia Putintseva: -18
Unfortunately, Yulia Putintseva takes the crown as the biggest mover inside the WTA top hundred this week. Of course, this is a crown that she would rather not have, but the fact that she has slid 18 positions down the rankings puts her in the spotlight. As for how this has occurred, by losing in the second round of the Canadian Open last week, she’s lost points – enough to take her down to 79 in the WTA rankings.
Alja Tomljanovic: -15
As you might be aware, Alja Tomljanovic hasn’t competed in any WTA events since November 2022. This is a huge length of time for a professional tennis player, and it is now having a huge impact on her ranking. Because of this prolonged absence from the tour, Tomljanovic has moved another 15 spots in the wrong direction. And she now finds herself at 83 in the rankings with further drops to come in the next few weeks.
Lin Zhu: -11
Because of her ranking when she entered the Canadian Open, Lin Zhu actually got directly into the main draw. This is huge for any aspiring player, yet she failed to capitalize on the opportunity to pick up big points. Sadly for Zhu, she was drawn against Pliskova in the opening round, and she went down in a tough three-set battle. As for the impact on her ranking, she has now dropped 11 spots to number 47.
Top WTA rankings story – Superhuman Pegula in Canadian Open final
Did you witness the final of the Canadian Open yesterday? If so, you were probably blown away by how one-sided the match was. For a quick recap, Jessica Pegula managed to beat Liudmila Samsonova by a score of 6-1 6-0. Perhaps even more impressively (that’s if you are a Pegula fan), she won the match in just 48 minutes. Then again, with the way she’s been playing, as displayed with wins over Swiatek and Gauff, it was always going to be tough for Samsonova.
This was even more likely since she had to play her semi-final earlier that day against Rybakina. But let’s take nothing away from Pegula – she was quite incredible in the final!
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