The WTA
Race to Riyadh has been updated after the Canadian Open, marking the midpoint
of the hardcourt swing. Despite not competing in Tour-level events since
Wimbledon,
Iga Swiatek comfortably remains the leader and has secured her spot
in the WTA Finals months ago.
Emma
Navarro’s strong performance in Toronto has shaken up the Race, as she breaks
into the top-8 for the first time this year, putting herself in a qualifying
position for the Finals. Additionally,
Jessica Pegula closed the gap and is on
the verge of entering the top-10, keeping her hopes alive for a Finals berth.
Swiatek keeps No. 1 spot
Swiatek
secured her qualification during her impressive clay swing. The Polish star won
4 of the 6 WTA 1000 events this year, in addition to claiming her fifth Grand
Slam title at the French Open. With this, the world No. 1 comfortably leads the
Race with 7,475 points, holding a 2,500-point advantage over her closest
competitor.
Elena
Rybakina (4,911 points) and
Aryna Sabalenka (4,886) are neck and neck, both
sitting just over 1,500 points above the qualification threshold. They could
secure their spots in the Finals with deep runs in Cincinnati and the US Open
over the coming weeks.
Jasmine Paolini (4,515) is also in a strong position to
qualify for the Finals.
Coco Gauff
(3,728) and
Danielle Collins (3,167) hold the 5th and 6th positions,
respectively. Both are set to be top American contenders in Cincinnati and the
US Open, and have remained in the top-8 throughout most of the year. Gauff, who
is defending titles in Cincinnati and the US Open, and Collins, making her
final stop in the US Open Series, have extra motivation in this hardcourt
swing.
![copyright proshots 22284676](https://r.testifier.nl/Acbs8526SDKI/resizing_type:fit/watermark:Picture%3A%20Proshots/width:1280/plain/https://s3-newsifier.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/tennisuptodate.com/images/2023-09/copyright-proshots-22284676-64fd05a158429.jpg@webp)
Coco Gauff won her first Grand Slam title at 2023 US Open.
Tight battle for the last two places
The final
two qualification spots for the Finals are highly contested.
Emma Navarro
claimed one of these spots after reaching the semifinals at the Canadian Open,
moving into 7th place and pushing
Barbora Krejcikova (2,616) slightly behind.
Jelena
Ostapenko (2,580) now sits in 9th place but remains a strong contender to
secure a spot in the final 8. Behind her are
Zheng Qinwen (2,530), the recent
Toronto champion Jessica Pegula (2,526),
Daria Kasatkina (2,379), and Anna
Kalinskaya (2,276). Any of these players could shake up the standings with a
good run in Cincinnati this week.
| PLAYER | AGE | COUNTRY | POINTS |
1
|
✓ Iga Świątek
|
23
|
POL
|
7475
|
|
WTA Finals Qualification Cut
| | |
6540
|
2
|
Elena
Rybakina
|
25
|
KAZ
|
4911
|
3
|
Aryna
Sabalenka
|
26
|
BLR
|
4886
|
4
|
Jasmine
Paolini
|
28
|
ITA
|
4515
|
5
|
Coco Gauff
|
20
|
USA
|
3728
|
6
|
Danielle
Collins
|
30
|
USA
|
3167
|
7
|
Emma Navarro
|
23
|
USA
|
2654
|
8
|
Barbora
Krejčíková
|
28
|
CZE
|
2616
|
9
|
Jeļena
Ostapenko
|
27
|
LAT
|
2580
|
10
|
Qinwen Zheng
|
21
|
CHN
|
2530
|
11
|
Jessica
Pegula
|
30
|
USA
|
2526
|
12
|
Daria
Kasatkina
|
27
|
RUS
|
2324
|
13
|
Anna
Kalinskaya
|
25
|
RUS
|
2276
|
14
|
Marta Kostyuk
|
22
|
UKR
|
2027
|
15
|
Victoria
Azarenka
|
35
|
BLR
|
2006
|
16
|
Donna Vekić
|
28
|
CRO
|
1909
|
17
|
Madison Keys
|
29
|
USA
|
1866
|
18
|
Diana
Shnaider
|
20
|
RUS
|
1807
|
19
|
Maria Sakkari
|
29
|
GRE
|
1733
|
20
|
Mirra
Andreeva
|
17
|
RUS
|
1698
|
21
|
Elina
Svitolina
|
29
|
UKR
|
1594
|
22
|
Dayana
Yastremska
|
24
|
UKR
|
1522
|
23
|
Paula Badosa
|
26
|
ESP
|
1515
|
24
|
Anastasia
Pavlyuchenkova
|
33
|
RUS
|
1473
|
25
|
Katie Boulter
|
28
|
GBR
|
1464
|
26
|
Ludmilla
Samsonova
|
25
|
RUS
|
1423
|
27
|
Linda Nosková
|
19
|
CZE
|
1403
|
28
|
Ekaterina
Alexandrova
|
29
|
RUS
|
1381
|
29
|
Yulia
Putintseva
|
29
|
KAZ
|
1370
|
30
|
Markéta
Vondroušová
|
25
|
CZE
|
1363
|
31
|
Elise Mertens
|
28
|
BEL
|
1269
|
32
|
Beatriz
Haddad Maia
|
28
|
BRA
|
1235
|
33
|
Leylah
Fernandez
|
21
|
CAN
|
1231
|
34
|
Ons Jabeur
|
29
|
TUN
|
1226
|
35
|
Amanda
Anisimova
|
22
|
USA
|
1216
|
36
|
Karolína
Plíšková
|
32
|
CZE
|
1142
|
37
|
Anastasia
Potapova
|
23
|
RUS
|
1137
|
38
|
Magda Linette
|
32
|
POL
|
1056
|
39
|
Kateřina
Siniaková
|
28
|
CZE
|
1002
|
40
|
Anhelina
Kalinina
|
27
|
UKR
|
1000
|
41
|
Marie
Bouzková
|
26
|
CZE
|
967
|
42
|
Magdalena
Fręch
|
26
|
POL
|
953
|
43
|
Xinyu Wang
|
22
|
CHN
|
940
|
44
|
Yue Yuan
|
25
|
CHN
|
937
|
45
|
Elina
Avanesyan
|
21
|
ARM
|
932
|
46
|
Sorana
Cîrstea
|
34
|
ROU
|
914
|
47
|
Emma Raducanu
|
21
|
GBR
|
907
|
48
|
Peyton
Stearns
|
22
|
USA
|
905
|
49
|
Caroline
Garcia
|
30
|
FRA
|
894
|