WTA Rankings Update: Title in Linz cements Andreeva's spot in top 10 as Potapova and Vekic rewarded after deep runs

A relatively quiet week on the WTA Tour saw a number of players capitalise at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz. This includes some huge rises for Austrian talents among other players, as the best tennis players in the world look ahead to bigger ambitions on the horizon.

It was a quiet week for the top eight in the WTA rankings. Aryna Sabalenka keeps her spot as number one with a huge lead of almost 3000 points to Elena Rybakina in second, partly thanks to her stunning Sunshine double. Both players were set to compete in the Stuttgart Open, but late withdrawals, especially in the Kazakh's instance, mean another week without movement in terms of points tallies.

Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek will also be traversing to Germany in a stacked tournament. A lot of points will be on the line for the American, who could plummet some spots if unable to find her best form. Swiatek remains in fourth with Jessica Pegula and Amanda Anisimova staying up in fifth and sixth. Those two will not set foot in Stuttgart, but Elina Svitolina and Jasmine Paolini will. They were representing their countries in the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers, with no points on the line.

The first movement saw Mirra Andreeva climb a single spot into ninth. She was under threat to leave the top 10 in recent weeks, but thanks to a superb title run in the Upper Austria Ladies Linz, she rises back above Victoria Mboko who caps off the top 10.

Belinda Bencic and Linda Noskova faced off in the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers. They both sit not too far off the top 10 in 11th and 14th, with Karolina Muchova and Ekaterina Alexandrova sandwiched in between. In fact, there is no other movement in the top 20 aside from Andreeva. This will change next week with a large number of them competing in Stuttgart.

Jelena Ostapenko will be defending 500 points in Germany next week. She limited the damage with a quarterfinal run in Austria, gaining 107 points that moved her up one single position into 22nd. More joy for Sorana Cirstea who culminated her run in the same round. She rises three spaces to 26th with Emma Navarro, Marta Kostyuk and Emma Raducanu shifting down one.

It stays exactly the same as last week up until we get to 40th. Once held by Lois Boisson, she drops four positions as injury woes continue to hamper her progress. A lot of points will be on the line from that Roland Garros semi-final from last year. She drops to 44th with Alexandra Eala creeping right behind her into 45th after a last-16 exit in Linz limited her progress up the rankings.

The big and most notable mover in the WTA rankings is Anastasia Potapova. She competed in Linz for the first time while representing Austria, firmly getting the backing of the crowd. She reached the final, where Andreeva pipped her in a thriller. Nevertheless, the 324 points collected result in a meteoric rise, sending her up 43 positions to 54th in the world from 97th.

Some other players benefited from deep runs in the indoor clay tournament. Elena Gabriella-Ruse rises 26 spots to 61st after making it to the semi-finals with former Olympic finalist Donna Vekic capitalising from qualifying for the event, being the other semi-finalist loser. A 37 place rise to 67th banishes worries about not qualifying for the big events.

A number of players drop down a couple of positions due to these two players shifting up the order. Anastasia Zakharova suffered a much harsher drop, now down to 76th after falling 11 spots. Solana Sierra one-upped her, now finding a new home at 90th thanks to a 12-place drop. Dalma Galfi makes a return to the top 100 in 93rd as 18-year-old Lilli Tagger’s run to the quarterfinal in her home event sees her debut among the best 100 players in the world. Not so much joy for the former Austrian number one, Julia Grabher, who is now the third highest ranked player from her country thanks to a 10-place drop to 99th. Just outside the top 100, Paula Badosa continues to fall away, now in 106th after losing another four positions.

(as per livetennis.eu)