By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Monday June 24, 2024
2024 has been a breakthrough season for Anna Kalinskaya – and the hits just keep coming.
The Moscow native, who cracks a rankings milestone this week, kicks off our weekly WTA rankings reports. Jump down the page for more…
Kalinskaya sky high
Five championship points went begging on Sunday as Kalinskaya tasted heartbreaking defeat in Sunday’s Berlin final against Jessica Pegula, but that didn’t stop the 25-year-old from making her Top-20 debut today (June 24).
Kalinskaya rises from 24 to 17 in the WTA rankings thanks to her second final appearance of 2024. Considering the fact that the Russian ended 2023 at 77 in the world (and was ranked 115 as recently as last October) gives us more perspective on the character of her season. Kalinskaya made her maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal at the Australian Open in January, then reached her biggest career final in Dubai in February. She’s the fourth WTA player to make her Top 20 debut in 2024, along with Jasmine Paolini, Emma Navarro and Marta Kostyuk.
The Moscow native is also No.9 in the Race to the WTA Finals standings, just 54 points out of the final spot.
Putintseva, Tomljanovic Make Hay on Grass
There wasn’t a lot of dramatic moves across the Top 100 this week, but Yulia Putintseva did make a big push in the direction of a career-high. The Kazakhstani took home the Birmingham title, her first on grass, and rises seven spots to No.34 in Monday’s rankings, just seven spots shy of her previous career-high.
Ajla Tomljanovic, just four tournaments into her comeback from surgery (out from January to May), reached the final in Birmingham and thus rises 55 places from 190 to 135.
Other Notable Risers
One week after debuting in the Top 30, Doubles megastar Katerina Siniakova continues to climb the singles rankings. She reaches another new career-high after qualifying for Berlin and playing the quarterfinals, at No.27.
2021 US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez is also on the rise. The Quebecoise returns to the Top 30 for the first time since September 2022, thanks to her trip to the Birmingham quarterfinals.