Aryna Sabalenka has ruled the current WTA rankings for 86 straight weeks now, holding a commanding 9090 points at the summit. Yet her Roland Garros campaign delivered an unexpected twist, as she failed to defend last year’s finalist points after an upsetting QF exit, allowing Elena Rybakina to edge closer in the race. With the grass court swing has already started with SW19 now looming large, the Belarusian’s grip on the No. 1 ranking suddenly doesn’t seem quite as untouchable as it once did.

The Belarusian top seed faces a crucial stretch in the coming weeks as significant ranking points remain on the line as the current world No. 1 has plenty to defend during the grass-court season.

Last year, the 28-year-old reached the SF of the WTA 500 Berlin Open. As a result, the 4-time Grand Slam winner is set to drop 195 ranking points from that performance.

Sabalenka’s biggest challenge, however, comes at Wimbledon. Having reached the SF at The Championships a year ago, another 780 points will come off her total.

That effectively leaves Sabalenka sitting on 8,115 points. Of course, she still has an opportunity to improve that tally if she captures the Berlin Open title later next week, which offers a maximum of 500 points.

Elena Rybakina, on the other hand, enters this period in a slightly different position. The Kazakh ace dropped only 108 points from her Queen’s Club Championship campaign where she lost at the QF.

At the All-England Club, the 26-year-old has far less to defend. After losing in the 3rd round 12 months ago, only 130 points will come off her ranking total, leaving her with 7,905 points at the start of this year’s grass court Slam.

At present, the points difference between Sabalenka and Rybakina has narrowed to just 947 points. That margin gives the Kazakh another realistic opportunity to challenge for the top position during the grass-court swing.

And to be honest, it has been quite some time since the Belarusian top seed genuinely felt pressure from a rival capable of threatening her reign atop the WTA rankings. However, several factors have shifted the landscape lately. Her underwhelming clay-court season, combined with Rybakina’s AO triumph and strong results throughout the year, have brought renewed intrigue to the race.

The recently ended clay court Slam also played a significant role in the rankings battle. Sabalenka, who was defending 1,300 points after finishing runner-up to Coco Gauff in 2025, eventually bowed out in the QF.

Even so, Rybakina was unable to take full advantage of the situation after suffering a shocking 2nd-round defeat in Paris. 

With SW19 approaching and the battle for the top-ranking intensifying between the two, the spotlight has never been brighter on the leading names in women’s tennis like today.

Brad Gilbert backs other WTA players ahead of Aryna Sabalenka at The Championships

After losing 11 of the last 12 games in her match, including the painful Roland Garros defeat against Diana Shnaider, the Belarusian opened up about the emotional toll of the setback. She admitted that she felt like she wanted to ‘quit tennis’ at her last press conference at Paris after another missed opportunity to add to her Grand Slam collection.

Despite those comments, the Belarusian remains at the top of the WTA rankings. As one of the tour’s most dominant players, she still has every reason to channel that clay court disappointment into motivation.

However, not everyone believes she is the leading favorite for Wimbledon for this year. Former coach of Coco Gauff, Brad Gilbert offered a different perspective when discussing the contenders for the grass-court major.

Gilbert 1st backed Elena Rybakina as his top choice. “Her [Rybakina] game I feel like is tailor made for this surface,” Gilbert recently said in “The Big T Podcast”.

The 64-year-old then turned his attention to the 2025 champion Iga Swiatek. “…I’ve got Swiatek at number two, but she hasn’t made a final since October last year,” he added.

Gilbert’s 3rd pick for this year’s SW19 was Amanda Anisimova, despite the American facing her own ranking pressures. “…Number three, I’m going to go with Anisimova, even though she’s got a lot of points coming off from the final at Queen’s and the final of Wimbledon.”

The veteran also addressed the Belarusian’s current state of mind following her Roland Garros disappointment. “Sabalenka [has been] struggling a little bit, especially after her loss at the French, said I want to quit tennis.”

And as Wimbledon edges closer, the pressure surrounding Sabalenka continues to build. The question now is whether she can block out the noise, rediscover her composure, and finally turn the grass court Slam into the stage for her long-awaited triumph.