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The previous week on the WTA Tour hosted three tournaments. Two of these were played on red clay at the 250 level, whereas the other was played on hard courts, also at the 250 level. And as you will know if you tend to tune in to my WTA rankings updates, with these events falling inside the last seven days, the associated points influence these latest updates. For clarity, the new WTA rankings were released on July 31st following the conclusion of all tournaments over the previous 7 days. However, while these were the only three WTA-graded events, other events were held at the Challenger level too.
As for the impact on the WTA rankings, well, that’s what I am about to get stuck into right now. So below, you will see the players that have enjoyed the largest leaps up the rankings. At the same time, I’ll discuss the players that have made the deepest slide into the red zone. Anyway, it’s all detailed within the following sections, so let’s get the ball rolling right away.
WTA Rankings Updates – Week Commencing July 31st
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This week on the WTA Tour has been full of twists and turns. And since this was the final week before the tour moves up a gear for the American hard court swing, the results from this previous week have been very important. I say this because, at the top, it could have made the difference between a main draw spot in one of the upcoming 500/1000 events or not.
Furthermore, looking ahead to the WTA schedule for August/September 2023, there are some huge tournaments closing in. Therefore, obtaining a respectable ranking ahead of these months is absolutely critical. So – who is on the right path and who is moving away from such goals? Let me show you.
The Week’s Biggest Climbers – Rus, Burel, and Wickmayer
As listed here, there are three players that have surged through the WTA rankings this week. This means they have all managed to secure a better rankings position as the North American hard-court swing commences. Yet of the three players mentioned, it is Clara Burel of France that has made the biggest jump. This promising 22-year-old made it all the way to the final of the WTA 250 event in Switzerland before losing to Elisabetta Cocciaretto. In doing so, she is the week’s biggest riser with a rankings jump of 23 spots. This puts her at 61 in the world, so she’s not too far away from the top 50.
Following Clara Burel, it’s Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands that swoops in as the second biggest climber of the week. Rus competed in the WTA 250 event in Hamburg last week, and she battled her way to the title, winning three three-set matches in the process. Given that she was only seeded 7th, this is a quite remarkable achievement, and it has enabled Rus to jump to number 42 in the WTA rankings – a rise of 18 positions.
As for the third and final riser of the week that I wish to highlight, the award goes to Yanina Wickmayer (narrowly). She has posted a rankings rise of 16 positions, which takes her back inside the top 100 at 33 years of age. Wickmayer chose to compete in the WTA 250 event in Poland last week, and while she was an unseeded entrant, she made it through to the semi-finals before losing to Iga Swiatek. Nevertheless, this was a great week for Wickmayer, and it puts her at 93 in the world.
The Week’s Biggest Fallers – Baindl, Bouzkova, and Noskova
Now that I’ve given you the scoop on the week’s biggest risers, the scope needs to shift to the week’s biggest fallers. Once again, there are three individuals that have experienced a rather sharp drop in the WTA rankings when compared to their positions last week. Yet of them all, it’s one of the main risers from last week who now finds herself the deepest in the red. That player is Kateryna Baindl, a 29-year-old from the Ukraine. Following a great week in the Budapest Open, she chose not to compete in any event last week. And since the WTA Tour is so unforgiving, she’s tumbled by 21 spots as a result of not playing – taking her down to 98 in the rankings.
It’s also been a ropey week for Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic. She’s been having a great run of form in recent weeks/months that has taken her well inside the top 100 in the WTA rankings. However, while she did make it into the quarter-finals of the 250 event in Poland before losing to Swiatek, her ranking hasn’t improved as a result. Instead, she finds herself 12 spots down on her ranking from last week, putting her at 71 in the world.
Finally, the last individual who finds herself in the top three for the red zone this week is Marie Bouzkova. The 25-year-old from the Czech Republic hasn’t competed since Wimbledon 2023, although she is down to play in the Prague Open this week. And this absence from the tour has started to hurt her ranking, as reflected by the 10 position slide this week down to 39.
Top Rankings Stories – Swiatek Makes It 70 Weeks at the Top
You’ve probably noticed that Iga Swiatek’s name has popped up several times throughout the sections above. In fact, she seems to have beaten around half of the players that I’ve been discussing on her way to the title in Poland. As the number one seed and home favorite, Swiatek didn’t disappoint in front of her adoring fans. In typical Swiatek fashion, she smoked the entire draw and captured the title without dropping a set. As it happens, only one player would even take her to a tie-break, and that player was Yanina Wickmayer.
However, the big story here isn’t about the title. It’s about Swiatek officially making it 70 weeks in a row as the world’s number one. This is a pretty amazing achievement for a player that is still so young, and this title pulls her away from Sabalenka – the current number two.
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