WTA Race Update: Iga Swiatek and Mirra Andreeva cement top 5 standing, Rybakina's positions under pressure

After the first week of the grass-swing, the WTA Race saw no major movements at the top, which is widely dominated by Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff. However, several stars managed to close distances in their bid to climb the standings.

This week's champions were Tatjana Maria (Queen’s Club Championships) and Elise Mertens (Libema Open), earning them a good number of positions in the Race, although they are still far from the WTA Finals qualification zone. The Belgian (Mertens) barely reached the top 20, while the German (Maria) landed within the top 40.

This season, the big names on Tour have been consistent in staying at the top, and even in a week with most of the top 10 out of competition, the qualification zone remains impenetrable. The top 5 is completed by Madison Keys, Iga Swiatek, and Mirra Andreeva, five players who seem practically set to qualify for the WTA Finals, despite being just over halfway through the season.

In 2022, the 8th qualifier was Daria Kasatkina with 2,935 points; in 2023, it was Maria Sakkari with 3,245 points; and in 2024, the 8th qualifier had 3,568 points – although in that case, she was excluded in favor of Barbora Krejcikova (2,814 points), who received a special entry as a Grand Slam champion.

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka (6,421 points) has a wide lead in a remarkable 2025, where she secured 3 titles and reached finals in both Grand Slams played – in addition to finals in Indian Wells and Stuttgart.

She is followed by Coco Gauff (4,599) and Madison Keys (3,975), both completing the podium. Gauff and Keys are virtually qualified for the Finals, as Grand Slam champions during the year, they only need to finish the year within the top 20 to qualify, which they can mathematically consider a certainty even without competing.

Completing the top 5 are Poland's Iga Swiatek (3,658) and Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva (3,486). In Swiatek's case, even without winning titles – or reaching finals – she has been consistently performing in most of the tournaments she has played, with a 32-10 record so far this season and 5 semifinal appearances – including her last appearance at Roland Garros.

In Andreeva's case, a good portion of her points comes from the WTA 1000 titles won in Indian Wells and Dubai, as well as her appearance in the Roland Garros quarterfinals. Andreeva has a difference of almost 700 points from 6th place, and both she and Swiatek won't need too much in the coming weeks for a potential qualification to the WTA Finals.

The lower part of the qualification zone is usually where more uncertainty is generated, with much smaller point differences. Jessica Pegula leads this section with 2,790 points. A good performance at the French Open, reaching the 4th round, keeps her in a comfortable zone thinking about a potential 4th consecutive qualification to the Finals.

Behind her is Jasmine Paolini, who, despite an early loss at Queen's Club, still has good results this season, notably her second WTA 1000 title at the Rome Open. In the last qualification spot is Kazakh Elena Rybakina (2,299), who, like last week, closes the potential qualifiers for the finals, despite her current ranking outside the top 10.