WTA Race after first week of 2024 season as Elena Rybakina tied with Iga Swiatek after early success
WTATuesday, 09 January 2024 at 00:00
The first
week of WTA competition concluded with the top-ranked players of 2023 living up
to their favoritism in the United Cup, Brisbane International, and Auckland.
The current top four in the Race standings are Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina
leading with 500 points, followed by Aryna Sabalenka in third place and Coco
Gauff in fourth.
Poland's
Swiatek showcased her relentless form in the United Cup, securing five
victories on Poland's journey to the tournament final, where Germany ultimately
claimed the title. On the other hand, Rybakina equaled Swiatek's points tally,
thanks to a flawless campaign in Brisbane, where she clinched the title by
defeating Aryna Sabalenka, who sits in third place with 325 points.
Read also
Surprises in the Top 10
Rybakina's
points propelled her back to the world No. 3 spot, surpassing the recent ASB
Classic champion, Coco Gauff. While Gauff defended last year's title, earning
no points in the official ranking, she did start the Race strongly with 250
points.
Surprising
names in the top 10 of the Race include Linda Noskova, Victoria Azarenka, Elina
Svitolina, and Jelena Ostapenko. The young Czech, Noskova, reached the
semifinals in Brisbane and, despite falling to Rybakina, accumulated her first
195 points, similar to former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka.
Swiatek leading from the first week
The WTA
Race considers points earned in the calendar year (from the first week of
January) and will determine the year-end rankings, along with the top eight
players who will compete in the WTA Finals. For the past two years, Iga Swiatek
has ended the year as No. 1, and this year, she has begun in exceptional form,
taking the lead from the very first week.
If Swiatek
maintains this position, she will match the records of Ashleigh Barty
(2019-2021), Serena Williams (2013-2015), and Chris Evert (1975-1977). However,
she still trails behind Steffi Graf, who achieved this feat four years in a row
twice (1987-1990 and 1993-1996), and Martina Navratilova, who accomplished it
five times consecutively (1982-1986).
2024 WTA Race, January 8th, 2024
| Rank | Player | Points |
| 1 | Iga Swiatek | 500 |
| 1 | Elena Rybakina | 500 |
| 3 | Aryna Sabalenka | 325 |
| 4 | Coco Gauff | 250 |
| 5 | Linda Noskova | 195 |
| 5 | Victoria Azarenka | 195 |
| 7 | Elina Svitolina | 163 |
| 8 | Nuria Parrizas-Diaz | 125 |
| 9 | Daria Kasatkina | 108 |
| 9 | Jelena Ostapenko | 108 |
| 9 | Anastasia Potapova | 108 |
| 9 | Mirra Andreeva | 108 |
| 13 | Xiyu Wang | 98 |
| 13 | Emma Navarro | 98 |
| 15 | Caroline Garcia | 95 |
| 16 | Katie Boulter | 90 |
| 16 | Maria Sakkari | 90 |
| 18 | Julia Riera | 85 |
| 19 | Harriet Dart | 81 |
| 20 | Qinwen Zheng | 75 |
| 21 | Ekaterina Makarova | 72 |
| 22 | Moyuka Uchijima | 70 |
| 23 | Talia Gibson | 63 |
| 24 | Lin Zhu | 60 |
| 24 | Elise Mertens | 60 |
| 24 | Magda Linette | 60 |
| 24 | Karolina Pliskova | 60 |
| 24 | Veronika Kudermetova | 60 |
| 24 | Clara Burel | 60 |
| 24 | Arina Rodionova | 60 |
| 24 | Angelique Kerber | 60 |
| 32 | Olivia Gadecki | 57 |
| 33 | Sahaja Yamalapalli | 57 |
| 34 | Varvara Gracheva | 54 |
| 34 | Diane Parry | 54 |
| 34 | Marie Bouzkova | 54 |
| 34 | Petra Martic | 54 |
| 38 | Antonia Ruzic | 50 |
| 38 | Angella Okutoyi | 50 |
| 40 | Katie Volynets | 49 |
| 40 | Clara Tauson | 49 |
| 42 | Brenda Fruhvirtova | 48 |
| 42 | Lulu Sun | 48 |
| 44 | Diana Marcinkevica | 44 |
| 45 | Donna Vekic | 40 |
| 46 | Maya Joint | 36 |
| 47 | Beatriz Haddad Maia | 35 |
| 47 | Jessica Pegula | 35 |
| 47 | Jasmine Paolini | 35 |
| 50 | Sara Saito | 33 |
Cristhián AvilaTennis Journalist
Cristhián Ávila is a tennis journalist based in Santiago, Chile, and has been part of the TennisUpToDate team since early 2023. He covers the ATP and WTA Tours as well as all four Grand Slams, producing breaking news, match reports, analysis, and regular liveblogs from major tournaments.
His reporting combines statistical analysis with clear explanation, helping readers understand tactical developments, player form, and broader storylines across the tour. Working fluently in both Spanish and English, Cristhián collaborates with an international editorial team and contributes to comprehensive global coverage. As part of his work, he has conducted interviews and media interactions with leading figures in the sport, including Caroline Wozniacki and John McEnroe.
In his journalism, Cristhián places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. His coverage is grounded in research, context, and direct engagement with professional tennis.
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- WTA has been unfairly ignoring Elena ever since Wimbledon. Arguably biased against her. Same with the most major sponsors whom normally pounce on the Wimbledon Winners for sponsorship. Didn't happen. Her unfair treatment was always in Lena's subconcious; how she was largely ignored after Wimbledon. Her sister helped her a lot during that period. Next came illnesses and minor injury. A lot of time was lost, and physical (mental?) issues were frequent, as she fought through the absurdiy and general nonsense brought-on by her coach/partner. He was a Loser then, he's a Loser still. Although he has lowered his attitude, volume, and non-stop yapping from the box since he wore the organizations out with his non-stop legal letters begging for mercy and ultimately fully reinstated. Rybakina deserves all the accolades others have enjoyed and more for her strength and will to succeed. Hope it continues.
mandoist15-09-2026 - Ball bouncing is not that extreme but... ...they can eliminate the time-wasting walks back & forth to the Towel Bin between serves!!! That's just plain ridiculous to see some of them take minimum 30 seconds between every serve to shuffle over to their towel bin, dab their face, or wipe their handle. "Toweling-off" is an obvious time waster.mandoist15-09-2026
- Raducan'tdo and the media's love affair with her may be due to her looks. Since she does nothing for tennis, what else is going on with the 'love'?? She is best at maintaining a "presence" via anti-Social Media and maintaining her sponsorships.mandoist14-09-2026
- As soon as someone makes a statement like this we are all waiting for the inevitable outcome of the EXACT OPPOSITE!!! He’s got a lot of work to do if you’re both the fitness AND mental coach and your client loses her mind when she’s losing.DaveyWavey14-09-2026
- Endless intentional ball-bouncing is a ploy. Extended screaming in competition (but never, ever on the practice courts) is a ploy. Neither of these things are a "strategy". Bottom Line: WTA + ATP do not care. They consider these things free marketing and advertising issues.mandoist14-09-2026
- YAWN! Thank Dog for women’s tennis because the men’s tournament was quite boring. Not a fan of Zverev and Ben played poorly compared to his QF and SF matches.DaveyWavey14-09-2026
- Congrats Rybakina! Hopefully she can keep the top ranking for the remainder of the year. Not sure why we need to keep mentioning Raducanu in these ranking posts. Your ranking will drop when you don’t play for months on end.DaveyWavey14-09-2026
- "This of course a stark change to Rybakina who is obviously more timid..." That just may be the dumbest thing ever written about Lena. For a CCO, Mr. Gill seems to have either made an error in judgement -- or needed filler for this article -- to say something so ridiculous.mandoist13-09-2026
- “The way I like to put it – no disrespect to anybody – is that this is her house, and all the other girls are just guests, and it’s time for them to go home” Well now... seems John Stacy has made a complete ass of himself. Doubt he'll be receiving any invitations to Lena's "house" any time soon.mandoist13-09-2026
- I am sorry, but Sabalenka has NO EXCUSE for her despicable behaviour. She lacks self and mouth control! The message is being sent but Saba isn't getting it! She is full of arrogance and pride. Hopefully, after this defeat she will be on the way to becoming a humble lady LIKE ELENA! I hope she never regains the world No. 1 until she develops some humility.Rapunzel13-09-2026
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