WTA Rankings: Amanda Anisimova set to overtake Coco Gauff as new American No.1 while making top three debut

After finishing in the top three in the rankings for the last three years, Coco Gauff is set to drop down a place with Amanda Anisimova leapfrogging her in the live rankings, altering what was a top three cemented in stone for some time.

With the WTA season set to commence in the coming days, players from every position in the rankings will be either looking over their shoulder or the road ahead with ranking points simultaneously coming off and being added after a period where there was seldom movement in the off-season.

There is, unsurprisingly, no change at the very top with Aryna Sabalenka keeping a healthy lead at the top. She leads Iga Swiatek by almost 2000 points, and is set to keep this position for at least a little while, despite a substantial number of points needing to be defended.

However, behind there is a change, and a huge one if you are Anisimova. In the live rankings, she surpasses her fellow countrywoman by a slim margin. This is due to Gauff losing 500 ranking points from her success in the United Cup last year. She will go to the event looking to defend those points, while Anisimova is set to compete in a stacked Brisbane International, barely defending any points Down Under. This should give her the advantage as she looks to keep her place in the top three.

That is the only change in the top 10. WTA Finals champion Elena Rybakina stays in fifth with not much on the line. This is different for Madison Keys in seventh, behind Jessica Pegula in sixth. She is defending titles from the Adelaide International and Australian Open. The likes of Jasmine Paolini, Mirra Andreeva, and Ekaterina Alexandrova will look to capitalise on this possible slip-up.

Similar to Gauff, Clara Tauson is also feeling the effects of points coming off her ranking. She won the ASB Classic but will see those points come tumbling off her overall tally. This has been punced upon by both Linda Noskova and Elina Svitolina, rising up a place to 12th and 13th respectively while Tauson falls to 14th.

Former French Open finalist Karolina Muchova has also lost a place due to United Cup points coming off. Czech Republic's semi-final last year sees her move down to 20th while Elise Mertens rises to 19th.

Further down, Jaqueline Cristian and Eva Lys have both recently recorded new career-high rankings after Daria Kasatkina continued her decline down. She dropped three places to 40th. Marie Bouzkova and Ashlyn Krueger both will start the year in a lower position. The former top 30 players now sit in 46th and 49th with 2021 Roland Garros runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova rising three places to 44th in the world.

The biggest rises come for Oleksandra Oliynykova and Kamilla Rakhimova with them firmly in the top 100 in 90th and 91st. For the Ukrainian, this is a career-high. The biggest drop by a long way is three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur who is on the cups of the top 100 down in 95th after a 20-place drop. She is currently taking a hiatus from the sport and will continue to slide further down the order.