Coco GAUFF unofficially already into Aryna Sabalenka's World No.2 spot as jump likely to be confirmed after Madrid Open

American tennis prodigy Coco Gauff has been playing the best tennis of her young career over the past 12 months. The Florida native could see her position on the WTA Rankings table rise even more over the next week, following her successful start to the 2024 season.

Gauff currently sits at World No.3 in the official WTA rankings, behind Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek who are No.2 and No.1 respectively. However, the American has overtaken Sabalenka in the live rankings, and her performance at the upcoming Madrid Open could see her reach her official career-high of World No.2.

The Belarusian, having lifted the title at last year's edition, will drop 1,000 points at this week's WTA 1000 event in Spain. Conversely, Gauff will only drop 65 points as she reached the third round in 2023. Therefore, this gives the American a 345-point advantage over the reigning Australian Open champion in the Live Rankings.

Stuttgart champion Elena Rybakina is also in the race for World No.2. The Kazakh star has no points to defend in Madrid, and will need to win the title in order to climb to the World No.2 spot. Sabalenka will need to win the title if she hopes to retain her ranking. The Belarusian and Gauff are on opposite sides of the draw, and therefore can only meet in the final.

1. Iga Swiatek 10,560 points
2. Aryna Sabalenka 7,848
3. Coco Gauff 7,258
4. Elena Rybakina 6,293

1. Iga Swiatek 9,920
2. Coco Gauff 7,203
3. Aryna Sabalenka 6,858
4. Elena Rybakina 6,293