Iga Swiatek stays ahead as he wins Madrid Open title
After winning the Mutua Madrid Open for the first time, Iga Świątek solidified her position as the number one in the WTA rankings.
When she arrived in the Spanish capital, she was leading Aryna Sabalenka by 2,712 points (10,560 to 7,848). But by winning the WTA 1000 event, she has now extended her lead over the world number two by 700 points, reaching a margin of 3,412 points (10,910 to 7,498).
This is Świątek’s largest lead at number one since last year’s Indian Wells, exactly 14 months ago, from March 6 to 19, 2023, when she led Sabalenka by 4,485 points (10,585 to 6,100).
After Rome, she has the opportunity to further extend her lead because she only has quarterfinal points to defend in the Italian capital. Her two closest challengers to the top spot, Sabalenka and Coco Gauff, can also close the gap slightly as they both exited early in last year’s WTA 1000 event.
Current WTA TOP 5 points (and their defending points in Rome):
1. Świątek: 10,910 points [defending 215]
2. Sabalenka: 7,498 points [defending 10]
3. Gauff: 7,313 points [defending 65]
4. Rybakina: 6,673 points [defending 1,000]
5. Pegula: 4,655 points [defending 10]
Meanwhile, the ATP rankings of the two best-performing players in the Madrid men’s event have both risen: former world No. 5 Andrey Rublev climbed from No. 8 to No. 6 after winning his second Masters 1000 title, and former world No. 6 Felix Auger-Aliassime soared from No. 35 to No. 20 after reaching his first Masters 1000 final.
For Auger-Aliassime, this marks his first return to the top 20 in six months. On November 6, 2023, he lost in the second round of the Paris Masters 1000 event, causing his ranking to drop from No. 19 to No. 22. The previous fall, he had an incredible indoor run, reaching the semifinals.
In the WTA rankings, Marta Kostyuk entered the top 20 for the first time. Two weeks ago, she reached the final of the WTA 500 event in Stuttgart, narrowing the gap to the elite players and climbing from No. 27 to No. 21. Today, despite losing her first match in Madrid, she still moved up one spot to enter the top 20 after some re-adjustments around the top 20 ranking category.
Mariano Navone’s ATP ranking continues to rise rapidly after winning the Cagliari Challenger event in Italy during the second week in Madrid, moving from No. 41 to No. 31. The 23-year-old Argentine only broke into the top 100 in February, but has since performed exceptionally well on clay courts. He reached his first ATP final in Rio de Janeiro, made the semifinals again in Marrakech, and then reached another final in Bucharest. Now, his Cagliari victory has nearly pushed him into the top 30, making him a likely seeded player at the French Open.
Last but certainly not least, there are two new joint number ones this week in the ATP doubles rankings, Marcel Granollers of Spain and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina.
Both players boast impressive resumes, having won Masters 1000 titles five times (in 2019 in Canada, 2020 in Rome, 2021 in Madrid and Cincinnati, and in 2023 in Shanghai), and reached the final of a Grand Slam three times (2019 US Open, 2021 Wimbledon, and again in 2023). They also made it to the ATP Finals last year.
They take over the top spot from Australian player Matthew Ebden.
On top of the world 🇪🇸🇦🇷
Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos are your new world No.1 doubles team!#MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/gIGyMv0kpV
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 2, 2024
