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There is always a designated number of tournaments played on the WTA Tour for any given week. Some weeks have more tournaments than others, of course, and this isn’t the time of the season when massive tournaments make the headlines. But with that said, the tournament might not be huge, yet they are certainly consistent. And because the tournaments aren’t necessarily attracting the world’s best players, those who are outside the top 20, for example, get a shot at glory.
This shines through in the WTA rankings updates that have been released on Monday, October 23rd. Specifically, three tournaments were played in the previous week, each in a different location, but on all hard courts, and all at the 250-level. To clarify, these events involved the Jiangxi Open, the Transylvania Open, and the Jasmin Open Monastir. Combined, this shows us that one event was played in China, while the other two events were played in Romania and Tunisia, respectively.
As for the results of these events, the outcomes have influenced the WTA rankings updates that you are about to read through. So let’s get started.
WTA rankings updates – week commencing October 23rd
Contents
With three 250-level tournaments played over the last seven days, there were a decent number of points on offer across the board. Of course, the winners of these events took home the most points – 250. Yet for the individuals who played and competed, especially if they performed well enough to make a deep draw run, they scooped up a different number of points. While less than those who won the tournaments, naturally, the points earned were far from insignificant, as you’re about to find out for those who’ve leaped up the WTA rankings this week!
The week’s biggest climbers
Focusing on the WTA top 100, there are three names I must highlight this week. Each of these three players was successful in their respective tournaments over the previous seven days, and the points earned have seen them rise up the rankings as a result. As for the players included here, there are three who have secured impressive, double-digit jumps in the WTA rankings ladder. However, there is one that has left the others in the dust by quite a considerable margin.
Tamara Korpatsch: +34
Tamara Korpatsch has established herself this week and made herself known to many other players as a formidable threat in major tournaments. I say this because she is the highest climber of the week, posting a gain of 34 positions thanks to her title in Romania. This has taken her inside the WTA top 100 instantly, rising from 105 to 71 in just one week!
Taylor Townsend: +14
The American, Taylor Townsend, is the only one of the top three climbers this week who didn’t play in any of the 250-level tournaments. Instead, Townsend competed in an ITF event in Claremont, CA. It turned out to be a good decision too, as Townsend won the tournament. In doing so, she secured enough points to produce a 14-position jump to 66 in the WTA rankings. This shows she’s moving in the right direction.
Katerina Siniakova: +14
Siniakova matched the WTA rankings rise of Taylor Townsend this week, so we can say that these are the joint second climbers. As you can see, Siniakoa also jumped 14 positions, but the reasons why are different from what we’ve just seen with Townsend. Specifically, Katerina Siniakova competed in the WTA 250 tournament in China, and as you may have guessed, she won the tournament. This has given her ranking a solid boost following two great weeks of tennis, and she is now ranked 46 in the world.
The week’s biggest fallers
There are four individuals who find themselves listed in the ‘week’s biggest fallers’ category according to today’s WTA rankings updates. And that’s because there are three players who have dropped by the exact same number of places, so I’ve included them all in order to be as comprehensive as possible.
Bianca Andreescu: -14
Unfortunately, Biana Andreescu has been absent from the WTA Tour since competing in her home event – the Canadian Open, which was played back in August. This is due to the stress fracture in her back, which has prevented her from competing for over two months now. And as expected, her ranking has tumbled once again, putting her down at 92 in the world.
Magdalena Frech: -10
It’s Magdalena Frech who joins two other players with a rankings drop of 10 positions this week. The Polish player competed in the Jasmin Open Monastir last week, yet lost in the opening round. This has caused a drop in her cumulative rankings points total, resulting in a 10-place slide to 79.
Sloane Stephens: -10
Much like Bianca Andreescu, Sloane Stephens has been absent from the WTA Tour too. Stephens hasn’t competed in any tournament since the Guadalajara Open in Mexico back in the middle of September. So again, this has an impact on her ranking, and it’s caused a slide to number 49 – a 10-place drop.
Caroline Garcia: -10
Caroline Garcia is the final player who makes the list this week, not that she’d want to. Garcia has also fallen 10 positions, taking her from 10 in the world down to number 20 – a huge difference at the top of the tree. She didn’t compete last week, however, so such a drop isn’t due to poor performances.
Top WTA rankings story – Korpatsch takes first career title in Romania
Of all the stories I could have chosen this week, I have to give attention to Tamara Korpatsch. The 28-year-old German managed to win her very first WTA title last week in Romania. This alone is a great achievement for any player, yet for Korpatsch, I feel this title run was more impressive than usual. Before the event, she was ranked 105, so naturally, she wasn’t seeded. However, she managed to overcome three matches in a row in three sets to reach the semi-final, and she didn’t look back from that point onward.
Ultimately, she stomped through the semis and finals to bring home her maiden career title, and this is a special moment that deserves recognition for any player.
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