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Were you able to catch the action at the Cincinnati Open 2023? If so, you may have a fairly good idea of the players that have made the biggest moves concerning the WTA rankings this week. But if you weren’t able to catch the action, or you simply haven’t seen the results from the previous seven days, the information shared here will let you know exactly what you may have missed. Of course, as I do every single week, I have shared the key WTA rankings update in relation to the main tournaments that were completed in the most recent period.
As for the updates that I am providing today, these updates cover the period running from August 13th through to August 20th. During that period, there was one tournament that took precedence over the rest, and that tournament was the 2023 Western & Southern Open. However, there were plenty of other tournaments taking place around the world that were graded much lower than the event in Cincinnati.
As a result, some of the names that have made the biggest moves this week weren’t necessarily competing at the Cincinnati Open. Anyway, all of these movements combined with the reasons for the respective adjustments have been covered below, so let’s get started.
WTA rankings updates – week commencing August 21st
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Given how tightly packed the WTA rankings are at the very top of the tree, there hasn’t been a load of movement inside the top 20 or 30. However, there have been some interesting shifts inside the top 10 and 15, which is something that we don’t always see when covering WTA rankings updates. And for me, this is pretty exciting as we edge ever closer to the final Grand Slam of the year. So, starting with the players that have managed to climb the WTA rankings the most this week, I’d like to reveal the biggest movers right now.
The week’s biggest climbers
Based on the results and performances of the previous week, there are three women that stand above the rest. Each of the three women that I have discussed below has managed to produce double-digit ranking leaps for this particular period. And naturally, this bodes well with the US Open due to start next week. With that in mind, let me now cover the details of these three players.
Xinyu Wang: +15
As you can see, the official biggest climber of the week this week belongs to Xinyu Wang. She has managed to climb the WTA rankings by 15 places, which now puts her at 56 in the world. But interestingly, Wang didn’t compete between August 13th and August 20th. Instead, since she played and won an ITF that concluded on August 14th, her points have now come through for this week’s update.
Danielle Collins: +14
Danielle Collins has certainly enjoyed her time on the North American hard courts over the previous two weeks. She managed to make the quarter-finals of the Canadian Open, and she backed this up by making the second round in Cincinnati last week. I know that the second round might not seem super impressive, yet having fought back from injury, qualified for the Canadian Open, and then reached the 2nd round in Cincinnati – she deserves her second consecutive week in the green zone. Collins is now ranked 34 following her +14 move too.
Jasmine Paolini: +14
Matching the WTA rankings leap of Danielle Collins, the third and final biggest move of the week goes to Jasmine Paolini. This 27-year-old Italian had a simply remarkable week in Cincinnati. She made it through qualifying and managed to get all the way to the quarter-finals before losing to the eventual winner, Coco Gauff. And in making this deep draw run, she has risen 14 spots to number 35 in the WTA rankings.
The week’s biggest fallers
Now that the players who managed to find the green zone this week have been covered, it’s time to turn our attention to the players in the red zone. Once again, there are three players who have slid further than anyone else inside the top 100 this week, and I’ve covered these players right here.
Shuai Zhang: -21
Sadly, Shuai Zhang stands alone this week as she has moved 21 places down the WTA rankings ladder. This is a whole 7 places further than the second-biggest faller of the week, which is obviously far from ideal. The 34-year-old Chinese player did compete at the Cincinnati Open, but she went out in the opening round to Anna Blinkova. And by failing to defend her points from the 2022 season, she now finds herself down at 69 in the WTA rankings.
Lucia Bronzetti: -14
For the second biggest fall of the week, we have another Italian. Only for Lucia Bronzetti, this isn’t the region she’d like to be in when finding herself in the spotlight. As the 16th seed in qualifying at the Cincinnati Open, she failed to get past her opening round, losing to Diane Parry in straight sets. And because she didn’t reach the main draw, she lost enough points to fall 14 spots down to 82.
Lin Zhu: -12
Lin Zhu is the second Chinese player that finds herself in the top three fallers concerning these WTA rankings updates. Much like her fellow country-woman, Shuai Zhang, Zhu fell in the opening round of the Cincinnati Open. She lost to Anhelina Kalinina in straight sets, and by losing her points from this time last year, Zhu is now ranked 48 in the world.
Top WTA rankings story – Gauff takes first 1000 title
While I could cover all sorts of different stories based on the previous week on the WTA tour, this is the story that deserves attention and recognition. As you may have witnessed, the American teenager, Coco Gauff, was able to handle the pressure and secure her very first 1000-level WTA title in Cincinnati. Having beaten the world number one, Iga Swiatek, in the semi-finals to set up a clash with Karolina Muchova, she then went all the way and beat her opponent in straight sets.
This win now takes Coco Gauff up to number 6 in the WTA rankings, and she will now be considered a big threat at the 2023 US Open.
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