Krejcikova, Sakkari and Badosa gain ground in latest WTA rankings

Barbora Krejcikova, Maria Sakkari and Paula Badosa all improved their positions in the WTA Rankings after last week’s results, while Alex Eala and Emma Raducanu also shifted places.

There was no movement among the top 20, with none of those players competing in the first week after Wimbledon. As a result, the top 25 remained unchanged. Two WTA 250 tournaments filled the schedule: the Athens Open on hard courts and the Iasi Open on clay in Romania.

Krejcikova, a former world No 2 and two-time Grand Slam singles champion, beat Greek home favourite Sakkari 7-6(5), 6-3 in the Athens final. That win pushed the Czech up six places, from 32nd to 26th. Sakkari also climbed, moving four spots from 37th to 33rd.

In Iasi, Mayar Sherif was ahead 6-4, 4-0 in the final when Badosa retired because of injury. Sherif’s title run lifted her 24 positions to No 73. Badosa, also a former world No 2, rose from 115th to 93rd despite the runner-up finish.

Eala did not play last week, yet she slipped from her career-high of 28th to 29th because of Krejcikova’s climb. Raducanu, who has not appeared since losing the Queen’s Club Championships final last month, moved up one place from 38th to 37th.

WTA Rankings Top 20 (Monday 20 July)

1. Aryna Sabalenka – 8,550
2. Elena Rybakina, Kazakhstan – 8,143
3. Jessica Pegula, United States – 6,301
4. Coco Gauff, United States – 5,649
5. Mirra Andreeva – 5,293
6. Karolina Muchova, Czechia – 5,618
7. Linda Noskova, Czechia – 5,119
8. Iga Swiatek, Poland – 4,539
9. Amanda Anisimova, United States – 4,353
10. Elina Svitolina, Ukraine – 4,351
11. Marta Kostyuk, Ukraine – 3,926
12. Victoria Mboko, Canada – 3,570
13. Naomi Osaka, Japan – 3,146
14. Belinda Bencic, Switzerland – 2,845
15. Jasmine Paolini, Italy – 2,783
16. Iva Jovic, United States – 2,636
17. Sorana Cirstea, Romania – 2,502
18. Diana Shnaider – 2,458
19. Ekaterina Alexandrova – 2,301
20. Anna Kalinskaya – 2,300