TENNIS
What is Aryna Sabalenka’s WTA ranking after winning the 2024 US Open?
Sabalenka improved on last year’s performance at Flushing Meadows, but did she do enough to replace Iga Swiatek as number one?
Aryna Sabalenka is the 2024 US Open champion after a straight-sets victory over home favourite Jessica Pegula of the United States.
The second seed from Belarus shaded a competitive first set and eventually prevailed in a rollercoaster second, claiming a 7-5, 7-5 win at Arthur Ashe Stadium at Flushing Meadows.
How many Grand Slams has Sabalenka won?
Her win in New York means Sabalenka has now won three Grand Slams in her career, all of which have come in the last 20 months.
She started 2023 by winning the Australian Open in Melbourne, defeating Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina in three sets in the final. The 26-year-old then defended her title 12 months later, beating Chinese youngster Zheng Qinwen in straight sets in the showpiece game.
Sabalenka began the tournament at number two in the WTA ranking and will be staying there despite her victory and the surprise quarterfinal elimination of Iga Swiatek, the current number one.
How does the WTA ranking work?
The rankings are calculated based on players’ results over a 52-week period. That essentially means they win and lose points by comparison to how they performed in the same week (usually the same tournament) the previous year.
As Sabalenka reached the 2023 US Open final, she could only gain points this week by winning the tournament, which she did. However, Swiatek was eliminated in the fourth round by Jeļena Ostapenko last year, so she has also added to her total by getting to the quarterfinals.
American stars the big movers in WTA rankings
Americans Pegula and Emma Navarro are the big movers in the rankings.
Pegula, beaten in the fourth round last year, jumps three places to third, while Navarro lost to Sabalenka in the semifinals in 2024 after losing in the first round 12 months earlier. She moves up four spots to eighth as a result.
Another US star, 2023 US Open champion Coco Gauff, swaps places with Pegula. The 20-year-old drops three spots to sixth after her own fourth-round elimination at the hands of compatriot Navarro.