Elena Rybakina ended Aryna Sabalenka‘s 99-week reign at the top of the WTA rankings in the US Open final. The Kazakh racked up a monumental 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 to clinch her maiden crown at Flushing Meadows. The two currently stand as the highest-ranked players on the circuit. While Rybakina has 9,901 points, Sabalenka is behind her with 7,875 points. But Serena Williams’ childhood coach, Rick Macci, believes that the situation can change quickly at the top, with multiple players in the mix to take over.

Notably, both Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff are right behind Sabalenka with point tallies of 7,265 and 7,244, respectively. Mirra Andreeva isn’t that far behind either, with 5,743 points. According to Macci, Rybakina and Sabalenka can very well get pipped in the rankings by Gauff and Andreeva if they don’t maintain their form in the coming tournaments.

“Look for Gauff Andreeva eventually being one and two in the world,” he wrote on X. “But Rybakina and Sabalenka have the firepower to keep sending any player for an early shower. They are going to be in the mix for many years and could go to another level but that depends on what is going on between the ears.”

Like Rybakina and Sabalenka, both Gauff and Andreeva also had promising campaigns at the US Open. While Gauff eliminated Andreeva from the quarterfinals, the local hero got knocked out in the semifinals by Rybakina. Pegula also didn’t lose any points in the tournament as she reached the semifinals, the same round she got eliminated from last year.

Both Pegula and Gauff had the chance to take over the rankings at the US Open. But they had to win the title in order to do so, and that didn’t quite happen. Andreeva’s rise in the rankings has been pretty rapid. The 19-year-old has clinched three titles this season so far, including the French Open. Though her results have dwindled a little since then, she is still in contention to take over the rankings.

But it won’t be an easy task, as Andreeva is still over 4,000 points behind Rybakina. The Kazakh has gotten herself into such a position after achieving monumental success in the US swing. Her form had dropped considerably from the French Open, where she exited in the second round.

The grass swing wasn’t any better, as she only won three matches and got knocked out in the third round at Wimbledon. But things changed drastically as the surface changed to hard courts.

Elena Rybakina dethroned Aryna Sabalenka after a highly successful US swing

Rybakina made a strong return after a month of absence at the Canadian Open. She defeated players like Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff on her way to the final, where she met Iga Swiatek. The Pole dominated the match and triumphed 6-2, 6-3, denying Rybakina her third title of the season.

It was still a promising campaign for Rybakina as she gained 240 points in the rankings. She followed this up with a run to the quarterfinals at the Cincinnati Masters. Swiatek knocked her out again, but this time the 27-year-old retired while trailing the first set by 4-1 due to a suspected ankle injury.

Fortunately for Rybakina, she escaped a serious injury and was back in action at the US Open. She was 434 points behind Sabalenka, arriving at the Grand Slam. It was a campaign to remember as she defeated Osaka and Gauff once again on her way to the final. The victory over Sabalenka was the cherry on top of the cake as Rybakina not only won the Grand Slam, but also claimed the No. 1 ranking.

The loss was bitter for Sabalenka as it stopped her from completing a three-peat at Flushing Meadows. But she still has time to regain her place at the top with two Masters events and the WTA Finals yet to come. It won’t be wrong to say that Rybakina won’t find it easy to hold on to her rank until the end of the season.