Ashleigh Barty extends lead at No.1; Alexander Zverev rises to No.4 in rankings

Aryna Sabalenka makes her debut at No.2, with Naomi Osaka falling to No.3. Meanwhile, Grigor Dimitrov and Gael Monfils return to the Top 20.

Ashleigh Barty at Wimbledon 2021. (Image:Twitter)
By Karthik Raman | Aug 23, 2021 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Western & Southern Open champion Ashleigh Barty has solidified her grip at the top of the rankings, reaching her 83rd consecutive week as the World No.1. Meanwhile, runner-up Jil Teichmann also made a significant leap up the rankings. Teichmann has jumped 32 ranking spots, climbing from No.76 to No.44. Last week, the WTA Tour hosted a WTA 1000 tournament in Cincinnati, in addition to a WTA 125 series event in Chicago. While Barty emerged victorious at the Western & Southern Open, a pair of teenagers, Clara Tauson and Emma Raducanu, competed in the final in Chicago.

Barty reaches 90 weeks at top

There is no stopping the Australian tennis star as she consolidated her position at the top of the rankings chart. She now enters her 83rd successive week and 90th overall atop the rankings – the ninth most all time. Wimbledon champion Barty will need to protect her top spot for another eight weeks to level with Lindsay Davenport’s 98 weeks at No.1 in order to move into eighth place. With the Cincinnati title, Barty has added 900 ranking points and extended her lead at the top to 3,175 points ahead of World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka.

Meanwhile, a pair of WTA teenagers advanced to the final at the WTA 125 series tournament staged in Chicago last week. Tauson topped Raducanu in a three-set championship match. As a result, both the 18-year-olds achieved career-high rankings. Tauson significantly jumped 24 spots from No.101 to No.77, while Raducanu moved from No.174 to No.150.

Meanwhile, Aryna Sabalenka makes her debut at No.2, with Naomi Osaka falling to No.3. Cincinnati quarterfinalist Barbora Krejcikova rises to No.9, pushing Garbine Muguruza down to No.10. Angelique Kerber returns to the Top 20 this week for the first time since February on the back of her semifinal run in Cincinnati. The 33-year-old German jumps from No.22 to No.17. A quarterfinalist in Cincinnati, Spain’s Paula Badosa moves up three spots from No.29 to a career-best No.26.

Zverev jumps to No.4

Alexander Zverev has climbed one spot to No. 4 in the FedEx ATP Rankings after beating Andrey Rublev at the Western & Southern Open to capture his fifth Masters 1000 title. Notably, the 24-year-old German, who dropped just one set in Cincinnati, had never won a match in six previous appearances at the tournament.

Felix Auger-Aliassime has climbed two places (No.15) after reaching the quarterfinals in Cincinnati. It was the first time this season that the 21-year-old had reached the last eight at a Masters 1000 tournament. He has been one of the promising young players to look out for, with his consistent showing of late.

Elsewhere, 30-year-old Grigor Dimitrov has moved back into the Top 20, jumping three spots to No. 18 after he snapped a three-match losing streak to reach the third round in Ohio. The Bulgarian defeated 13th seed Roberto Bautista Agut and World No. 37 Alexander Bublik before falling to Russia’s Daniil Medvedev last week.

After overcoming Alex de Minaur to bag his 500th tour-level victory in Cincinnati, Gael Monfils has risen two spots to No. 20. It is to be noted that the 34-year-old Frenchman is only the 11th active player to reach the 500-wins landmark.





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