By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Monday February 6, 2023
It was a quiet week in the Top-30 of the WTA rankings (zero changes), but there were major moves beyond, as American Alycia Parks and China’s Lin Zhu made big jumps thanks to their title runs, in Lyon and Thailand respectively.
Let’s start with Parks…
Alycia Parks +28 to 51
After smacking 15 aces to defeat World No.4 Caroline Garcia, Alycia Parks rises 28 spots from 79 to 51 and becomes the tenth highest-ranked American woman. It has been a rapid rise for Parks, who was just inside the top-200 this time last year. It has been a rocket launch for the 23-year-old -- Parks was ranked right around 150 in the world two and a half months ago.
Lin Zhu +13 to 41
On the back of her breakout round of 16 performance at the Australian Open, China’s Zhu Lin jumps another 13 spots to No. 41 (Top-50 debut) this week.
The 29-year-old, who won the title in Thailand, is most certainly coming into her own in 2023.
Noskova Top-50 debut
We're sensing a them here: 18-year-old Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic rises to No.50 this week, becoming the youngest player inside the WTA’s top-50, thanks to her quarterfinal run at Lyon. The 2021 Roland-Garros girls' champ reached the final at Adelaide last month, and notched two top-10 wins in the process. She's one of many young Czechs on the rise.
Wang Xinyu, Camila Osorio + 12
Colombian 21-year-old Camila Osorio ( reached SF at Lyon) jumped 12 spots, back to No. 61, while 21-year-old Chinese right-hander Wang Xinyu (reached SF at Thailand) rises 12 spots to No.69. Additionally, Belgium’s Maryna Zanevska (reached SF at Lyon) pops 16 spots to No.77.
Tsurenko biggest riser in Top-100
Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko (runner-up in Thailand) makes the biggest push of all the players inside the top-100 this week by rising 36 spots to No.100. The 33-year-old Tsurenko is the fourth highest-ranked Ukrainian woman on tour.
Iga Still No.1 by a Wide Margin
Poland’s Iga Swiatek begins her 45th successive (and overall) week atop the WTA rankings this week; the 21-year-old juggernaut still leads No.2 Aryna Sabalenka by 4,385 points in the rankings. In the history of the WTA rankings, only 12 players have held the top spot longer than Swiatek.