1. Aryna Sabalenka – 9,706 points
2. Iga Swiatek – 9,665 points
3. Coco Gauff – 5,963 points
4. Jessica Pegula – 5,785 points
5. Elena Rybakina – 5,471 points
6. Jasmine Paolini – 5,144 points
7. Zheng Qinwen – 4,480 points
8. Emma Navarro – 3,698 points
9. Daria Kasatkina – 3,500 points
10. Beatriz Haddad Maia – 3,194 points

The big news in the WTA top 10 is Sabalenka’s return to No 1 in the world. The Belarusian had been steadily gaining on Swiatek since the European clay swing, and despite neither playing last week, regains top spo. Kasatkina also moves, reentering the top 10 off the back of her title in Ningbo. The former world No 8 pushes Danielle Collins out of the top 10, leaping Beatriz Haddad Maia as well to sit in ninth place. 

Andreeva, Lamens and Muchova make moves

Plenty of other players benefited from strong performances in Ningbo and Osaka as well. Here’s who made the biggest ranking increases over the last week:

• Mirra Andreeva – up two places to No 17
• Karolina Muchova – up five places to No 25
• Yulia Putintseva – up three places to No 29
• Clara Tauson – up 11 places to No 53
• Anna Blinkova – up 14 places to No 85
• Suzan Lamens – up 37 places to No 88
• Sonay Kartal – up 10 places to No 92
• Kimberly Birrell – up 39 places to No 111

Kasatkina’s opponent in the final of the Ningbo Open, Andreeva, hits another career high as she continues her advance up the WTA rankings. Lamens and Kartal both made career highs as well, as did Elina Avanesyan (46), Rebecca Sramkova (52), Moyuka Uchijima (57) and Kamilla Rakhimova (61).

Big drops for Mertens, Siegemund and Ruse

Several WTA players took hits to their rankings, however, with the following notable changes occurring this Monday:

• Elise Mertens – down eight places to No 36
• Katerina Siniakova – down seven places to No 48
• Clara Burel – down 11 places to No 65
• Taylor Townsend – down 16 places to No 67
• Nurria Parrizas Diaz – down 15 places to No 97
• Laura Siegemund – down nine places to No 98
• Elena-Gabriela Ruse – down 26 places to No 122

Former No 12 Mertens continues her slide, with the Belgian now unlikely to be seeded at the Australian Open as she falls outside the world’s top 30. Burel, Townsend and Parrizas Diaz also take big drops, as does Siegemund, but Ruse’s fall takes the cake. The Romanian loses 26 spots in the WTA rankings, with her points for making last year’s Transylvania Open final dropping off her tally this Monday.