In Monday’s WTA rankings, Aryna Sabalenka returned to the top place after surpassing Iga Swaitek. Although neither player played last week, Sabalenka earned less points than Swiatek due to ongoing year-end adjustments for missing certain tournament quotas.

With 9,706 points to Swiatek’s 9,665 in second position, Sabalenka has a slim 41-point advantage. Third place goes to American Coco Gauff with 5,963 points, followed by fellow countrywoman Jessica Pegula (5,785) in fourth place and Elena Rybakina (5471 points) in fifth.

After rising to the top of the global rankings, Sabalenka said on X, “N1… let’s see for how long this time.”

Before Swiatek surpassed Sabalenka with a win at the season-ending WTA Finals, the Belarusian aspires for a longer tenure at the top of the WTA rankings. Sabalenka held the top spot for eight weeks last year.

Sabalenka was rated No. 3 going into the Cincinnati Open, behind American Gauff and Swiatek, who had gained 3,289 points. However, despite Swiatek making it to the semifinals, Sabalenka emerged victorious and earned a whopping 1,000 points.

When the two prepared for the US Open, Swiatek did well, making it to the quarterfinals, but Sabalenka prevailed once again. The margin was cut to 2,169 points as a result.

Defending China Open champion Swiatek chose to forego the Asian swing in order to handle a coaching transition. Consequently, Sabalenka advanced to the quarterfinals and scored 215 points, deducting 1,069 points from Swiatek’s total of 1,000 points. According to WTA statistics, Sabalenka earned an extra 1,000 points for winning the title in Wuhan, defeating No. 4 Gauff in the semifinals and No. 7 Zheng Qinwen in the championship match.

Over the course of nine weeks, Sabalenka amassed four thousand points. In contrast, only seven players on the WTA Tour have that many overall in a given year.

Other noteworthy changes in the rankings include Kasatkina’s return to the Top 10 for the first time since July 2023. Kasatkina earned her eighth career title at last week’s WTA 500 tournament in Ningbo, her second in 2024. She moved up two positions to take ninth place.

Mirra Andreeva, a young French girl, reached a new career high of No. 17. In Ningbo, she advanced to her second career final and her first at the WTA 500 level until Kasatkina defeated her in a close final.