Aryna Sabalenka Reclaims WTA No. 1 Ranking, Overtaking Iga Swiatek

The current WTA rankings show that Aryna Sabalenka, the winner of the US Open, has risen to the top, ending Iga Swiatek’s 11-month reign.

Key Takeaways

• The WTA Finals, which conclude the season in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, next month, present Swiatek’s next opportunity to reclaim the top spot.
• Speaking of their head-to-head competitions, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek have faced off 12 times thus far.

Sabalenka was ranked first from September to November of 2023. Since last November, Swiatek has maintained his position as the top ranker, taking over her.

To end the 2024 season, Aryna Sabalenka overcame Iga Swiatek to take the top spot in the world rankings. She had held the No. 2 ranking since the 2021 campaign.

Belarusian Sabalenka, who won the Australian Open in January and held the title again, is ranked number one for the second time during an eight-week run from September to November 2023.

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Although neither player played last week, Swiatek of Poland dropped to second place after receiving a point penalty for skipping the required six WTA 500 events.

This was beneficial for Aryna Sabalenka, who was slightly behind Iga Swiatek. As Swiatek lost points due to a penalty, Aryna climbed to first position.

Swiatek from Poland chose to skip the tour’s Asian swing due to exhaustion. She has only participated in two competitions and hasn’t played since the US Open in September. Additionally, she hired a new coach earlier this month.

Having won five titles in the first half of the season, she had once led the rankings by over 4,000 points.

However, Sabalenka, 26, gradually overtook her in the second half of the year, adding victories in Wuhan and Cincinnati to her Flushing Meadows victory.

The WTA Finals, which conclude the season in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, next month, present Swiatek’s next opportunity to reclaim the top spot.

Aryna Sabalenka And Iga Swiatek Faced Each Other 12 Times, Leading Head To Head Record

Aryna Sabalenka, 26, was born in Belarus’s capital city of Minsk, while Iga Swiatek, 23, was born in Warsaw, Poland.

Both of the WTA stars are right-handed players. Sabalenka became a professional in 2015, while Swiatek, who was three years younger, did so in 2016.

Speaking of their head-to-head competitions, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek have faced off 12 times thus far.

Aryna Sabalenka has won four of the previous twelve games they have played, while Iga Swiatek has won eight.

Sabalenka prevailed in a close battle in their final meeting, which took place in Cincinnati in August 2024 at the Cincinnati Open semifinals.

The most highly regarded head-to-head encounter between them was in the 2024 Madrid Open final, where Świątek prevailed against the reigning champion Sabalenka in three sets in three hours and eleven minutes, thus saving three championship points.

Iga Swiatek has won 22 WTA Singles Titles compared to Aryna Sabalenka’s 17 wins. Aryna has also won 6 WTA Doubles Titles.

Aryna Sabalenka, the current top-ranked player, has earned $29,071,823 in prize money thus far in her career, while Iga Swiatek has won $32,106,991 in total.

Both of them are outstanding players who have proven their mettle with their performances. Spectators eagerly anticipate the WTA finals, which will determine who stays at the top.

In Case You Didn’t Know

• Because of the tiger tattoo on her left arm, Sabalenka has been nicknamed “The Tiger.”
• Swiatek has a black female cat named Grappa and is a cat enthusiast.
• Sabalenka is a baseliner with an assertive, strong game and a formidable servitor with equally formidable groundstrokes.