The past few weeks have been difficult for Iga Świątek—she withdrew from three consecutive tournaments. She skipped Seoul, Beijing, and Wuhan. The decision to withdraw from the Beijing event, where she was defending points from last year’s victory, raised a lot of eyebrows. On top of that, Aryna Sabalenka, her main rival, performed well.
The Belarusian reached the quarterfinals in Beijing and won the Wuhan tournament, significantly closing the gap in the WTA rankings. It became almost certain that Sabalenka would overtake Świątek. This was expected to happen on October 28th, when, according to WTA rules, points from last year’s WTA Finals would be removed. Therefore, fans were shocked by what they saw on Monday morning.
Aryna Sabalenka Overtakes Iga Świątek in the WTA Rankings. Experts and Fans Confused
As of October 21st, Sabalenka became the leader of the rankings, ending Świątek's impressive 50-week run at the top. The Polish player trails Sabalenka by just 41 points, but this difference is expected to grow significantly once the WTA Finals points are deducted. Why did this drastic change in the rankings happen now?
That’s a question not only fans but also experts are asking. The tennis information profile "Z kortu – informacje tenisowe" on X tried to answer it: "Last week, Iga had 9785 points, and Aryna had 9716. Świątek was deducted 120 points, while Sabalenka lost 10. This probably results from both being given mandatory zero points for their worst counted result. For Iga, this was 120 points from the WTA 1000 in Miami, and for Aryna, 10 points from the WTA 1000 in Dubai. It seems that it’s related to the insufficient number of WTA 500 tournaments played".
Such changes have caused confusion. Everyone is rather puzzled. "What happened here? Did the WTA decide not to wait? And what are these points all about..." wondered Rafał Smoliński, clearly upset.
"In terms of applying new rules for the 2024 season, the WTA operates a bit like the Spanish Inquisition. You never know when or what to expect :) We remember how at the start of the new year, Iga's point lead over Aryna suddenly increased. Now the WTA has started assigning zeroes," said a journalist. "It’s becoming hard to keep track of when the WTA will follow a specific rule," added the "Z kortu – informacje tenisowe" profile.
Changes in the WTA Rankings
This is not the only change in the top 10. Daria Kasatkina moved up to the ninth position at the expense of Danielle Collins. The Russian won the WTA in Ningbo, defeating compatriot Mirra Andreeva in the final. Meanwhile, the American dropped to 11th place. Magdalena Fręch maintained her 24th position, and Magda Linette remained in 40th.
WTA Rankings (as of October 21, 2024):
- Aryna Sabalenka – 9706 pts
- Iga Świątek – 9665 pts
- Coco Gauff – 5963 pts
- Jessica Pegula – 5785 pts
- Jelena Rybakina – 5471 pts
- Jasmine Paolini – 5144 pts
- Qinwen Zheng – 4480 pts
- Emma Navarro – 3698 pts
- Daria Kasatkina – 3500 pts
- Beatriz Haddad Maia – 3194 pts
It seems that the WTA ranking leadership will be decided during the WTA Finals. The tournament will take place from November 2nd to 9th in Riyadh. Świątek will be defending her title there and is currently preparing for the competition under her new coach, Wim Fissette.
