By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Monday May 6, 2024
Iga Swiatek is opening the gap between herself and the rest of the field in the WTA rankings table. The four-time major champion, entering her 102nd total week atop the rankings, is now 3412 points clear of No.2-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in the rankings.
The Pole defeated Sabalenka in a thrilling three-set final in Madrid on Saturday, claiming her 20th career title and improving to 71-10 lifetime on clay.
There was very little movement inside the Top 10 in this week’s WTA rankings. Marketa Vondrousova (+1 to No.6), Zheng Qinwen (+1 to No.7) and Maria Sakkari (-2 to No.8) were the only movers.
Top 20 for Kostyuk
Marta Kostyuk, in the midst of a strong season that features finals in San Diego and Stuttgart and a 19-8 overall record, makes her Top 20 debut (+1) this week, which marks the first time in the history of the WTA rankings that two Ukrainian women are in the Top 20 at the same time. Elina Svitolina is currently ranked 19th.
Kostyuk is 8th in the Race to the WTA Finals standings.
American Madison Keys jumps four spots to No.16 after reaching the semifinal in Madrid.
Keys is the fourth-ranked American, which puts her in position to qualify for the Olympics for Team USA (dependent upon rankings after Roland-Garros).
A pair of women who reached the quarterfinals in Madrid last week are also on the rise: 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva jumps three spots to make her Top 40 debut at No.40, while Yulia Putintseva, this week’s biggest riser inside the Top 50, jumps nine spots to No.41 after reaching the quarterfinals in Madrid.
Also making an impressive move was Maria Lourdes Carle of Argentina. She jumped 11 spots to a career-high No.72 after winning back-to-back tour-level matches for the first time in Madrid.
Carle made her Top 100 debut in March and won an ITF title just prior to Madrid.