Aryna Sabalenka has been top of the WTA Rankings since the start of the year \u2013 and her run at the Wuhan Open means she will remain there for a full calendar year as she has secured the year-end No 1 ranking.<\/p>\n
The 27-year-old replaced Iga Swiatek at the top of the rankings on October 21, 2024 and \u2013 after holding off her big rival for the year-end No 1 title last year \u2013 the Belarusian has been in a class of her own this season.<\/p>\n
So far this year, Sabalenka<\/a> has successfully defended her US Open title, has won the most titles \u2013 including WTA 1000 titles at Indian Wells and Madrid \u2013 and also reached the most finals (eight).<\/p>\n In July, she became only the second player to reach 12,000 ranking points as she peaked with 12,420 points after Wimbledon with only the great Serena Williams (13,615 in July 2013) ahead of her since the current points system was adopted by the WTA Tour<\/a> 2009.<\/p>\n But Swiatek\u2019s titles at Wimbledon, the Cincinnati Open and most recently the Korea Open meant she was back in the hunt for the coveted year-end No 1 ranking, although she had a mountain to climb.<\/p>\n And that mountain proved to be too big as her defeat in the Jamsine Paolini in the quarter-final in Wuhan, coupled with Sabalenka\u2019s run to the semi-final has seen the latter unofficially secure the year-end No 1 title.<\/p>\n Sabalenka sits on 10,400 points in the Live WTA Rankings with Swiatek on 8,768 points after their latest matches, but the official rankings use a 52-week rolling, cumulative system and still have to drop points from the 2024 WTA Finals.<\/p>\n Instead, the WTA Rankings Race To Riyadh only takes into account points accumulated during the current year and Sabalenka has 10,000 points in the Live Race with Swiatek on 8,368 \u2013 giving the four-time Grand Slam winner a 1,632-point buffer over the Pole.<\/p>\n WTA News<\/p>\n 2025 WTA Finals: The six women \u2013 including one debutant \u2013 who have qualified for season-ending event<\/a><\/p>\n