The final week of the regular Hologic WTA Tour season was wrapped up in style with three WTA 250 tournaments in Hong Kong, Jiujiang and Chennai last week.

All three showcased exciting tennis and deep runs from several fast-rising up-and-comers. Victoria Mboko, 19, captured her second title of the year in Hong Kong, defeating Cristina Bucsa in a 2-hour, 49-minute final — the longest of 2025. The Canadian teenager is rewarded with her Top 20 debut in this week’s edition of the PIF WTA Rankings, climbing three places from No. 21 to No. 18.

How remarkable is Mboko’s rise? She’s still only played 13 tour-level main draws in her career. This time last year, she was ranked No. 350 and losing in the first round of a Japanese ITF event to Aoi Ito. She’s ended 2025 with a 60-14 record (20-10 in WTA main draws) — and, impressively, also has a 7-0 record in deciding sets since Wimbledon.

Tjen’s surge puts Indonesia back on tennis map

Over in Chennai, Janice Tjen was proving that tour-level inexperience was no barrier. Two months ago, the 23-year-old reached the Sao Paulo final in the second WTA event of her career. In her fourth main draw, she went one step better to a historic title. Tjen became the third Indonesian champion in WTA history following Yayuk Basuki and Angelique Widjaja, and the first since Widjaja’s second title at Pattaya City 2002.

Tjen is also now the second-highest ranked Indonesian player in rankings history. She leaps 29 places from No. 82 to No. 53 — two places above Widjaja’s career high of No. 55. Can she match Basuki, who won six titles, made the 1997 Wimbledon quarterfinals and got all the way up to No. 19?

Like Mboko, the rapidity of Tjen’s rise is astonishing. On graduating from Pepperdine University last May, she was unranked. Between June and December 2024, she compiled a 41-3 record in ITF events, and her year-end ranking was No. 578. This year, Tjen has made finals at W15, W35, W75, W100, WTA 125 and WTA 250 levels, but ascending through the tiers hasn’t slowed her at all. Her overall season record is 77-16, and she’s 10-3 at tour level alone.

Tagger makes splash in debut

Hong Kong was Mboko’s 13th WTA main draw, and Chennai was Tjen’s fourth. But compared to Lilli Tagger, they were veterans. The 17-year-old reigning Roland Garros champion made her WTA main-draw debut in Jiujiang — and got all the way to the final, notching her first two Top 100 wins (over Elisabetta Cocciaretto and defending champion Viktorija Golubic) along the way. The Austrian teenager plays with a rare and eye-catching single-handed backhand, just like her coach Francesca Schiavone — the last one-hander to win a women’s Grand Slam title, at Roland Garros 2010.

Tagger became the lowest-ranked WTA finalist of 2025 at No. 235, and the first 2008-born player to reach a tour-level title match. She’s also now the highest-ranked 2008-born player after roaring up 79 places to make her Top 200 debut at No. 156.

Bucsa up to new career high; Blinkova, Birrell bounce back; Eala makes Top 50 debut

Hong Kong was also the site of a breakthrough for Cristina Bucsa, who reached her first career WTA final. The Spaniard also hit a career milestone at the US Open this year by making the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time. Bucsa, 27, climbs 14 places to No. 54, setting a new career high two places above the previous peak of No. 56 that she set in January 2024.

Entering Jiujiang, former No. 34 Anna Blinkova’s ranking had fallen to No. 95 — her lowest position in over a year. The 27-year-old responded by claiming her second career title without dropping a set; she’s back up 32 places to No. 63.

Last October, Kimberly Birrell’s first career final in Osaka established the Australian inside the Top 100 for exactly 12 months — but when those points fell off two weeks ago she dropped back out, and entered Chennai ranked No. 117. Just like last year, a run to a WTA final has put her back inside the Top 100 — the 27-year-old climbs 23 spots to No. 94 this week.

Meanwhile, Alexandra Eala made the second round of Hong Kong, where she fell to Mboko in one of the best matches of the tournament. That was enough for the 20-year-old to move up one place to make her Top 50 debut at No. 50. As with all of Eala’s accomplishments this year, it’s a trailblazing milestone — she is the first Filipina in history to be ranked this high.

Other notable rankings movements

Sara Bejlek, +9 to No. 75: The Czech 19-year-old is up to a new career high after reaching the Cali WTA 125 semifinals, where her 15-match winning streak was ended by Panna Udvardy.

Sinja Kraus, +22 to No. 107: Last week was a strong one for Austria. As well as Tagger’s breakthrough, the country’s No. 1 player Kraus won her first WTA 125 title in Cali, and the 23-year-old is up to a new career high.

Joanna Garland, +12 to No. 120: Garland’s first WTA semifinal run in Chennai ended in tears as the 24-year-old collapsed on court during the closing stages of her loss to Birrell. But after becoming the first Chinese Taipei WTA semifinalist since Hsieh Su-Wei at Dubai 2019 in just her fourth tour-level main draw — Garland can comfort herself with a new career high.

Dominika Salkova, +18 to No. 133: The powerful 21-year-old Czech also made her first WTA semifinal in Jiujiang and is just four spots beneath her career high of No. 129.

Lanlana Tararudee, +28 to No. 143: Last week was a strong one for Asian countries snapping long droughts without tour success. Joining Tjen and Garland in Chennai was Tararudee, who became the first Thai WTA semifinalist since Luksika Kumkhum at Seoul 2017. The 21-year-old, who claimed her second career Top 100 win over top seed Zeynep Sonmez in the second round, enters the Top 150 for the first time. Tararudee was contesting just her fourth WTA main draw, and first without a wild card.

Polina Iatcenko, +16 to No. 165: Having started the year ranked No. 405, Iatcenko entered the Top 200 in September after winning the Caldas da Rainha WTA 125 event. The 21 year-old kept going on her tour-level debut in Chennai, where she made the quarterfinals.

Harriet Dart, +46 to No. 178: Former No. 70 Dart fell out of the Top 200 in August, but the Briton is back inside it now after winning the Toronto ITF W75 last week.

Himeno Sakatsume, +42 to No. 186: Japanese 24-year-old Sakatsume also returns to the Top 200 after making her first tour-level quarterfinal in Hong Kong, claiming her first career Top 30 win over Sofia Kenin along the way.

Arina Rodionova, +42 to No. 208: Rodionova, 35, reached her first WTA quarterfinal in 22 months as a lucky loser in Chennai last week.

Sahaja Yamalapalli, +34 to No. 310 and Shrivalli Bhamidipaty, +51 to No. 383: The two Indian wild cards both made the Chennai second round — the first time two Indian players had won matches at one WTA tournament since Bangalore 2006 (Sania Mirza and Isha Lakhani).

Viktoria Morvayova, +124 to No. 396: The 24-year-old Slovak qualified for her first WTA main draw in Hong Kong and reached the second round.

Francesca Pace, +79 to No. 405: Pace, the 20-year-old daughter of former No. 7 Irina Spirlea, won the Norman ITF W35 title two weeks ago — her second ITF W35 trophy in her past three tournaments.

Mia Pohankova, +199 to No. 460: Tagger wasn’t the only reigning junior major champion making a splash last week. Pohankova, 17, the Wimbledon girls’ titlist, also made her WTA main-draw debut as a wild card in Chennai, and reached the quarterfinals.

Kristiana Sidorova, +44 to No. 497: The 19-year-old makes her Top 500 debut after qualifying for her first WTA main draw in Hong Kong.

Storm Hunter, +125 to No. 505: Hunter’s singles record this year as she’s made her comeback from an ACL injury is just 2-7. But both of her victories have come in tour-level main draws, including last week in Chennai.

Eudice Chong, +120 to No. 512: Former No. 213 Chong became the first Hongkonger to win a tour-level match since Zhang Ling at Guangzhou 2014 after the 29-year-old posted her first career Top 100 win over Suzan Lamens in the Hong Kong first round.

Bai Zhuoxuan, UNR to No. 694: Former No. 83 Bai played just one ITF qualifying tournament between August 2024 and October 2025 due to back and ankle injuries. In her fourth event of the year, the Chinese 22-year-old claimed her first career Top 50 win over Ann Li en route to her maiden WTA quarterfinal in Guangzhou.

Sun Xinran, UNR to No. 1,007: The Chinese 15-year-old is on a 10-match winning streak, claiming back-to-back ITF W15 titles in Sharm el Sheikh in just her fourth and fifth professional tournaments.

Kennedy Drenser-Hagmann, UNR to No. 1,074: Playing the first professional tournament of her career, 16-year-old American Drenser-Hagmann took the Hilton Head Island ITF W15 title as a qualifier two weeks ago.