WTA Rankings: Aryna Sabalenka wastes golden chance, Coco Gauff +2, Mirra Andreeva reaches milestone, Shuai Zhang +345

Iga Swiatek has started her 124th week at No 1 in the WTA Rankings and she will remain top until the WTA Finals after Aryna Sabalenka missed out at the China Open while Coco Gauff received a boost after her title run.

With Swiatek opting not to defend her title at the Beijing WTA event, she dropped 1,000 points and gave Sabalenka an opportunity to get within striking distance.

Sabalenka, though, did waste the chance as she lost in the quarter-final, but the gap has been reduced to 1,069 points and the Belarusian will get another shot at reducing the deficit at the Wuhan Open this week as the Pole is skipping the tournament.

But the battle for the year-end No 1 ranking will only be settled at the WTA Finals in November as the top two will only compete again in Riyadh after the Chinese swing.

It means Swiatek is assured of at least another four weeks at No 1.

Jessica Pegula remains third, but she is now under pressure from Gauff after the 2023 US Open champion moved up two spots on the back of her China Open title. With no points to defend in Wuhan, another extended run for Gauff could see her move past her fellow American.

Elena Rybakina, meanwhile, dropped to fifth place as she also didn’t play in Beijing with Jasmine Paolini just behind her.

Paula Badosa – who found herself at No 140 in May – reached the semi-final of the China Open and she was rewarded with a four-place rise to No 15, her highest position since January 2023.

There is a new career-high for Donna Vekic as she moves up one spot to No 18 while Mirra Andreeva makes her top 20 debut as she climbs four places to No 19. Aged just 17, she is the youngest player in the top 100 with her jump coming on the back of a quarter-final run in Beijing.