SOFIA KENIN UPSETS COCO GAUFF IN THE FIRST ROUND AT WIMBLEDON 😱
Sofia Kenin was one of the big beneficiaries of her Wimbledon run and has returned to the top 100.
The sanction that Wimbledon had last year meant that players didn't receive points in 2022, leaving many players who had good runs at SW19 without any ranking boosts.
The emblematic case was Elena Rybakina, who, despite being the champion that year, remained outside the top 20 until the beginning of 2023 when she quickly climbed to the top 10 after being a finalist at the Australian Open (defeated by Aryna Sabalenka).
This year, all participants had the chance to earn points since none of them were defending points from the previous year.
One of those who had reasons to celebrate was Sofia Kenin, the former Australian Open champion who hasn't found the consistency that took her to world No. 4, and after dealing with several injuries, she's now aiming for a comeback to the top of the rankings.
Kenin won her first three qualifying matches, defeating Tylor Townsend in the decisive match to enter the main draw. There, she surprised everyone by defeating the 7th seed Coco Gauff. She didn't stop there; in the second round, she eliminated Chinese player Wang Xinyu, but she fell in the third round against Svitolina.
With this result, Kenin climbed 37 spots, reaching world No. 91, marking her return to the top 100 after 16 months.
SOFIA KENIN UPSETS COCO GAUFF IN THE FIRST ROUND AT WIMBLEDON 😱
Another beneficiary was Elina Svitolina, who has seen an incredible rise in the rankings in recent weeks after winning the title in Strasbourg and reaching the quarterfinals in the French Open. The Ukrainian defeated Venus Williams, Elise Mertens (28th seed), Kenin, Victoria Azarenka (19th seed), and world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, but she lost to Marketa Vondrousova in the semifinals.
Svitolina advanced 49 spots and is now ranked world No. 27, making her the highest-ranked Ukrainian, surpassing Anhelina Kalinina by just one spot. With this, she practically secures a seeded position in the upcoming US Open, considering that she doesn't have any points to defend in the coming weeks.
✅ Venus Williams ✅ Sofia Kenin ✅ Victoria Azarenka ✅ Iga Swiatek Not to be this year, but what an inspired run it’s been. 👏 @ElinaSvitolina | #Wimbledon
Other players also made significant jumps in the rankings. Champion Vondrousova climbed 32 spots and entered the top 10 for the first time in her career.
Russian sensation Mirra Andreeva reached the octaves finals from the qualifiers and defeated two seeds along the way, Krejcikova (10th) and Potpova (22nd), reaching her best ranking at world No. 66, and making her debut in the top 100.
The biggest winners of Wimbledon: 🇨🇿Marketa Vondrousova ⬆️32 (10 miejsce) 🇺🇦Elina Svitolina ⬆️49 (27) Mirra Andreeva ⬆️36 (66) 🇺🇸Sofia Kenin ⬆️37 (91) 🇷🇸Natalija Stevanovic ⬆️80 (145) 🇸🇮Kaja Juvan ⬆️75 (169) 🇨🇳Yafan Wang ⬆️50 (182) #Wimbledon #wta