Biggest WTA Rankings Risers and Fallers: Victoria Mboko and Alexandra Eala shoot up the order while Victoria Azarenka finishes outside top 100

Throughout the WTA there have been new names who have cannoned up the rankings, cementing their spot within the best. The two most notable movers in 2025 are Victoria Mboko and Alexandra Eala, while former world number one Victora Azarenka has tumbled the opposite way after a torrid campaign.

At the start of the year, Mboko was ranked number 333rd in the world. She had not even competed in a major tournament or a WTA 1000 event, or even taste glory on the WTA Circuit. Just under a year later, and she is a familiar name amongst the top players in the world after an astonishing rise.

The potential was obvious to see from the start of 2025. A then 18-year-old Mboko won 20 ITF matches on the bounce while picking up four titles in an incredible run. She clinched another one in March ahead of her WTA 1000 debut in Miami. She managed to get through to the second round but was defeated by Paula Badosa. A similar story happened in Rome, but this time was defeated in three sets to Coco Gauff. This fixture will become very significant in the future. She qualified for her Grand Slam debut without dropping a set before bypassing Lulu Sun and Eva Lys at Roland Garros. Unfortunately, Qinwen Zheng brought her back down to earth. This is where she makes the move up to the senior tour.

A Wimbledon second-round was followed by a round-of-16 in the DC Open to Elena Rybakina. This all led up to the Canadian Open, the event which firmly puts Mboko on the map. She entered the Canadian Open as a wildcard, but left a champion. Defeating the likes of Gauff and Rybakina, she set up a final clash against four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka. After being a set down, she ran away with it, claiming the title and racking up a large amount of ranking points. This meant that she would be ranked for the US Open. From here, her season would slightly faulter. The 19-year-old went four tournaments without a win, but ended her campaign with the Hong Kong Open title, reminding everyone of her quality. Sat in the world number 18 rank, she has risen 315 positions in an astonishing rise from the young Canadian.

The Filippino started the year slowly on the ITF Circuit. Nevertheless, a deep run in the Miami Open would set her up for what would be an incredible year. She defeated former Grand Slam champions such as Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek all in straight sets. In the semi-finals, she found herself in a last-set decider against Jessica Pegula, just being pipped for a spot in the final. Despite this, the hugely unexpected run Eala enjoyed pushed her up the rankings. She made her debut in the top 100, becoming the first person from her country to complete this feat.

She would carry on making history for the Philippines. Her maiden WTA Final came shortly after making her Grand Slam debut in Paris. Despite having four match points to clinch the Eastbourne Open title, she was defeated by another rising star Maya Joint. This heart breaking defeat saw her rise continue. Eventually, she would claim her maiden WTA title, picking up the WTA 125 Guadalajara Open.

She played a lot of tennis on the Asian swing, with her best result coming in a semi-final in Jiangshan. Despite being the number one seed, she was clawed back by Sun who went on to clinch the title. Coincidentally, her final match of the campaign came in Hong Kong against Mboko. While she did not get the result she wanted, making this stage of the tournament pushed her into the top 50 for the first time in her career. She currently sits 50th in the rankings after moving up 97 places, culminating a hugely inspiring year for the 20-year-old.

The two-time Grand Slam winner has endured a torrid season. She started inside the top 20 but after a huge drop off in tournaments competed in along with results not up to par, the 36-year-old lingers down in 135th.

She had severely struggled for form in the first half of the season, unable to defend the points from a Qarat Open quarter-final and a Miami Open semi-final. This saw the two-time Grand Slam champion start to plummet down the order. Her best Grand Slam result came in the US Open third round, losing out to Pegula. This is the only event where she won more than one match at in 2025, showing off the barren spell of results she is on. After not participating in the Asian swing, Azarenka has dropped to a lowest end of year ranking since 2017.