Iga Swiatek’s 11-month reign as the top seed in the WTA rankings has come to an end as US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka has risen to be number one.
After an eight-week run at the top of the rankings between September and November 2023, the Belarusian athlete, who also won the Australian Open in January, is back at the top of the rankings.
What happened to Swiatek?
Moreover, Swiatek from Poland dropped to second place after receiving points penalty for missing the required six WTA 500 events. After opting not to participate in the tour’s Asian swing due to exhaustion, Swiatek, who also hired a new coach earlier this month, has only participated in two of the competitions and has not played since the US Open in September.
Swiatek won five titles in the first half of the season, and had once led the rankings by over 4,000 points. However, in the second half of the year, Sabalenka gradually overtook her, adding victories from Wuhan and Cincinnati.
Swiatek’s next opportunity to reclaim the top spot would be the season-ending WTA finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Source: BBC