The WTA rankings showed stability at the top in the first week following the US Open, while several youngsters posted dramatic climbs after their performances in Guadalajara and Sao Paulo.

There were no changes in the top 20, and the biggest names largely rested after the season-ending Grand Slam. World No 22 Elise Mertens was the highest-ranked player in action last week, losing in the second round in Mexico, while world No 27 Beatriz Haddad Maia was the top-ranked competitor in Sao Paolo.

Aryna Sabalenka remains a long way clear at No 1, leading by 3,292 points over Iga Swiatek, with Coco Gauff a further 59 points back in third. Swiatek will have an opportunity to close the gap at the WTA 500 Korea Open, where she has no points to defend. Sabalenka and Gauff are scheduled to return at the China Open next week.

Sabalenka has now spent 48 consecutive weeks at No 1 for a total of 56 weeks, placing her at No 13 on the all-time list for most weeks atop the WTA Rankings, eight weeks behind Simona Halep.

Teenagers produced the biggest ranking moves. Seventeen-year-old Iva Jovic captured the Guadalajara WTA 500 title, defeating Emiliana Arango in the final. Jovic surged 37 places to a career-high of No 36, while Arango rose 33 spots to No 53. Nikola Bartunkova and Elsa Jacquemot fell in the semi-finals in Mexico; Bartunkova climbed 84 places to No 144 and Jacquemot moved up 21 places to No 62.

In Sao Paolo, 19-year-old Tiantsoa Rajaonah won her first tour-level title, beating Janice Tjen in the final and jumping 83 places to a new high of No 131. Rajaonah made her Grand Slam debut at this year’s French Open via a wildcard but lost in the first round. Tjen, who won a match on her US Open debut before losing in the second round, rose from No 130 to No 103 after finishing runner-up.

Great Britain’s Francisco Jones reached the semi-final and improved 12 places to No 73. Philippines star Alex Eala lost in the quarter-final to Tjen and moved up four places to No 57. Sonay Kartal was one of the largest fallers, dropping 29 spots to No 82.

1. Aryna Sabalenka – 11,225 points
2. Iga Swiatek Poland – 7,933
3. Coco Gauff United States – 7,874
4. Amanda Anisimova United States – 5,159
5. Mirra Andreeva – 4,793
6. Madison Keys United States – 4,579
7. Jessica Pegula United States – 4,383
8. Jasmine Paolini Italy – 4,006
9. Zheng Qinwen China – 4,003
10. Elena Rybakina Kazakhstan – 3,833
11. Ekaterina Alexandrova – 3,026
12. Clara Tauson Denmark – 2,721
13. Elina Svitolina Ukraine – 2,606
14. Naomi Osaka Japan – 2,489
15. Karolina Muchova Czech Republic – 2,488
16. Daria Kasatkina Australia – 2,421
17. Belinda Bencic Switzerland – 2,334
18. Emma Navarro United States – 2,310
19. Diana Shnaider – 2,246
20. Paola Badosa Spain – 2,195

Boris Becker offered a blunt assessment after Jannik Sinner was unable to defend his US Open title, falling 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 to Carlos Alcaraz in Sunday’s men’s singles final. The loss cost Sinner the championship and allowed Alcaraz to reclaim the world No 1 ranking.

Becker pointed to a specific weakness that Alcaraz exploited throughout the match. “From the first minute to the last, Alcaraz was clearly better than all the other players and even better than Sinner,” said Becker. “In the final, he was clearly the boss. He played tennis from another planet and deserved to win the tournament.

“The big difference I noticed in this duel was on serve; Sinner was clearly weaker, and that’s unforgiving, if he has a real weakness, it’s this one.”

The defeat extended Alcaraz’s dominance in their rivalry: it was Sinner’s seventh loss to Alcaraz in eight meetings since the start of 2024, leaving Alcaraz with a 10-5 advantage in the head-to-head. During that period Sinner lost only four matches to players other than the Spaniard. Alcaraz’s victory also brought him level with Becker on two US Open titles and six Grand Slam trophies overall.

Becker said he had expected more from Sinner and felt the Italian had not advanced in the ways Alcaraz had. “I am one who always thinks to tell the truth. I was a little disappointed. I expected more.

“But of course I was not disappointed by Alcaraz. Because he really played tennis better today than a year ago. He had more variations, he had speed changes. He played serve volley. He played backhand slice. He played forehand where you don’t see the ball.

“And I think Sinner, for the first time, he stood still with his game. He is now predictable. You know exactly what always happens. And it’s not as bad that I see it that way. It’s worse for him that Alcaraz sees it that way.

“And I think for the first time that Alcaraz really took a step forward. And Sinner stayed the same. He partly didn’t know how to win the points. Except Alcaraz hit the ball.

“In his press conference after the match, Sinner, always said very honestly, that he [Alcaraz] has developed further in tennis and I have not. And I think it’s great that he says that. But that’s how I felt it.

“There was never a discussion for me, even after the second set, who would win this match in the end. And I didn’t see that in any other final between the two.”

Both players are scheduled to compete at the Shanghai Masters next month, where Sinner will aim to defend the title he won in 2024.

The 2025 US Open produced as many storylines beyond the finals as it did inside them. Across three weeks there were returns to form, stinging exits and a clear surge in interest for doubles.

Amanda Anisimova recovered impressively from her 6-0, 6-0 loss at Wimbledon to reach the semifinals in New York and climb to a career-high No. 4. By contrast Alexander Zverev, seeded No. 3, exited in the third round to No. 25 Felix Auger-Aliassime, extending his frustration at Grand Slams.

Carlos Alcaraz asserted himself in the semifinals, pulling away from 38-year-old No. 7 seed Novak Djokovic. Djokovic, a record 428-week world No. 1, returned to competitive form after Wimbledon and completed the full set of major semifinals in 2025, rising back to No. 4. Taylor Fritz, the defending finalist and No. 4 seed, was the only American man to reach the fourth round before a loss to Djokovic. Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton all fell earlier, with Shelton forced to retire in his third-round match due to a shoulder injury.

Holger Rune and Stefanos Tsitsipas disappointed, with Rune losing in round two to Jan-Lennard Struff and Tsitsipas losing to Daniel Altmaier after a heated postmatch exchange that included this line from Tsitsipas: “Next time, don’t wonder why I hit you, okay? No, I’m just saying if you serve underarm. . .”

Felix Auger-Aliassime emerged as a major story, defeating Zverev and Alex de Minaur before his run ended in the semifinals. “Well, a lot of things,” FAA said. “A lot of things. because obviously there’s the level, like the way I’m serving, the way I hit the forehand, the way I’m moving around the court, the backhand too. . . I think on top of that it’s just, yeah, the belief, the mentality, the conviction in myself that I have what it takes to win these types of matches.”

Naomi Osaka reached her first major semifinal since 2021 and credited coach Tomasz Wiktorowski: “He’s like always very proud and encouraging,” she said of him. “I feel like it kind of creates a safe space for me to, like, you know, be able to express myself and my tennis.”

The USTA’s reimagined Mixed Doubles Championship and Fan Week drove attendance figures, with Fan Week drawing 239,000 and the mixed event bringing 78,000 over two days, helping push total attendance past 1,000,000. Joe Salisbury observed: “It (the singles star-studded Mixed Doubles event) got the fans engaged in watching more doubles. So I think for that part it was a good thing. For the event, the last sort of eight, nine days, I think it’s been good. More fans were coming to watch.”