The first Grand Slam tournament of the calendar just got over and as expected, there are some changes in the rankings because of it. The new WTA rankings took effect from Monday, January 31, and to say that there have been some dramatic changes would be an understatement.

Which players are in the WTA top-20?

Ashleigh Barty, the World No. 1, retained her position at the top, after winning the title. She has 8331 points right now, and her win furthered the points difference between herself and the 2nd ranked Aryna Sabalenka. The Belarusian star is behind her by 2633 points. 

Barty defeated Danielle Collins in the finals, who had a fantastic run at the Australian Open. Returning from a long injury layoff, Collins surprised everyone by reaching the finals. She entered the top 10 rankings at number 10 and is currently the highest-ranked American player.

Also read: ‘Ash Won’t Win US Open’: Coach Reveals Ashleigh Barty’s Biggest Hindrance at the American Slam

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Spain’s Garbiñe Muguruza fell from No. 3 to No. 7, making Paula Badosa the highest-ranked Spanish woman in the circuit. Badosa maintained her current ranking of No. 6.

Barbora Krejcikova who won the women’s doubles with Katerina Siniakova, took Muguruza’s spot in the singles list, at No. 3. Iga Swiatek, who lost in the semifinals to runners-up Collins, returned to a career-best ranking by jumping from No. 9 to No. 4.

British rising star Emma Raducanu, who shocked everyone by her stellar performance at US Open 2021, lost in the second round. However, since this was her first main draw appearance at the tournament, she climbed up 5 spots to No. 13.

27-year-old Jessica Pegula from the USA also rose five spots to take her place at No. 16 (her career high). Other notable players who entered the WTA Top 20 were Victoria Azarenka who climbed up 7 spots and Belinda Bencic, who climbed up 3 spots are not at No.18 and 19 respectively.

Most notable shifts in the rankings

Simona Halep and Petra Kvitova dropped out of the Top 20, and currently stand at No.23 and No. 24 respectively.

Kaia Kanepi, at 36-years of age, had an impressive run at the Happy Slam, reaching the quarterfinals, where she lost to Iga Swiatek. Her performance at the Australian Open resulted in her having the biggest ranking jump. She climbed 52 spots, from No. 115, to reenter the Top 100 and take the No. 63 spot. Alize Cornet also moved up 24 spots to No.37.

The most drastic fall, however, was suffered by Sofia Kenin and Naomi Osaka, whose Australian Open rankings points from 2020 and 2022 dropped, this week, resulting in their rankings plummeting. Last year’s champion Naomi Osaka fell in the third round to Amanda Anisimova dropping out of the Top 50. The former world No.1 dropped a whopping 71 spots to No. 85.

The Australian Open 2020 champion, Sofia Kenin, was at No. 13 before the Australian Open 2022. But she lost her first-round match to Madison Keys at the tournament this year and suffered an 82-spot drop to be now at No. 95.

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