A new Emma is in town: Emma Raducanu regain number one Emma spot in the rankings ahead of Emma Navarro after failed title defence

A changing of the guards between Emma's in the WTA Rankings has officially been confirmed. For some time, Emma Navarro has been the number one Emma on Tour but that is no longer the case with her failed title defence opening the door for Emma Raducanu to jump above her to take this spot.

Navarro's rise up the rankings has seen her climb into the top 10 in 2024 after a staggering year where she made the US Open semi-final while winning a maiden WTA title at the Hobart International. Her ascent up the rankings was a rapid one and she was soon recognised as one of the best players in the world. Over a year later and she has not been able to keep up the pace of these heroics.

A drop off in 2025 saw her reach just one major quarterfinal and one WTA 1000 last-eight with a number of early exits proving costly as she dropped to 15th in the world at the end of the year.

The 24-year-old did win her second WTA title, and biggest to date at the Merida Open Akron. She produced a stunning showing to bagel Eiliana Arango twice to claim the title in emphatic fashion. However, good things always come to an end.

Those 500 ranking points earned saw her move up the rankings, but an exit in the last-16 to the hands of qualifier Shuai Zhang has seen her recoup only 60 of those points. A drop of five places has been experienced by the American who is now down to world number 25.

This has benefited a number of players, including Raducanu. While Navarro was climbing the order at quite the pace, Raducanu had endured a steep decline. Injuries had taken its toll and a lack of consistency on court prevented her from competing with the best.

While the American was debuting in the top 10, Raducanu had been recovering her ranking status. She rose over 200 places from the end of 2023 to 2024, finishing 58th in the world. While this was a stark rise, it was not where she wanted to be. 2025 saw her slowly creep up the rankings thanks to her regularly competing on court, although she was not getting deep into too many tournaments.

A second WTA final in the Transylvania Open has shown sone signs of progress despite being on the end of a trouncing against Sorana Cirstea, and a dreadful Middle East swing has seen her progress stall slightly.

Nevertheless, the British number one has risen to number 24 in the world as she looks to continue going up. Navarro is the latest player that she has overtaken despite not doing anything. However, this could all change rapidly with the Sunshine Double fast approaching.

Raducanu has barely anything to defend from Indian Wells Open after a first round exit but this was followed by a quarterfinal appearance last year at the Miami Open. A whole heap of points will be taken away, meaning that she will need to pick up some decent results to clinch those points back and ideally gain even more as she closes in on the top 20.

As for Navarro, she has only made one quarterfinal this year coming in the Adelaide International. Her form does not make for great reading going into the two WTA 1000 tournaments but she is not defending many points, so another chance to get back on track for her is on the cards, which includes reclaiming the status as the number one Emma.