.

Even with a 250 and a 500 event last week, there is no change in the top 30 on the WTA Tour.

That, of course, is because of the rankings freeze, and the moving around of the tournament schedule, and everything else surrounding the pandemic.

So it’s quite difficult for players to move up at the top of the game. And that also means that it’s rare for players to drop in the rankings unless it’s because someone added points, and pushed them down a little.

Because players are not dropping points. Get used to this, because it’s going to be here for awhile.

Further down, there is more room to move. And American Jessica Pegula is the biggest mover so far this season.

ON THE UPSWING

Jessica Pegula (USA): No. 44 ========> No. 36 (The 27-year-old hits a career high after winning six matches last week in Doha. She went from the qualifying to the semis, where she dispatched Qiang Wang, Jelena Ostapenko and Karolina Pliskova in straight sets before losing to eventual champion Petra Kvitova. She’s 12-4 this season, after starting it at No. 63).

Fiona Ferro (FRA): No. 46 ========> No. 39 (The 23-year-old is also at a career high after making the semis in Lyon, and is the No. 1 player in France even though many ranked below her are more well-known).

Paula Badosa (ESP): No. 73 ========> No. 69 (Badosa made the semis in Lyon last week, but took an “excused withdrawal” for this week’s tournament in Dubai).

Misaki Doi (JPN): No. 83 ========> No. 77 (Doi, 29, was a lucky loser last week in Doha and got to the second round, losing to Elina Svitolina. She is a lucky loser this week in Dubai as well. She’ll face Polona Hercog).

Clara Tauson (DEN): No. 139 ========> No. 96 (The 18-year-old from Denmark, who won the Australian Open juniors over Canadian Leylah Fernandez two years ago, wins her first WTA Tour event in Lyon, as a qualifier).

Viktorija Golubic (SUI): No. 130 ========> No. 102 (Another qualifier who maximized, the 28-year-old Golubic reached the final in Lyon. The former No. 51 went 12-2 in three ITFs at the $25,000 level this year and barely made a dent in the rankings. But this one result makes a big dent. As it happens, Golubic and Tauson two met in the final of a … $25,000 ITF in the UAE in January, after both had failed in their efforts to qualify for the Australian Open in Doha. That one also went Tauson’s way, but was much more competitive. But it’s ludicrous that players at their ranking are playing $25ks).

Margarita Gasparyan (RUS): No. 131 ========> No. 122

Clara Burel (FRA): No. 217 ========> No. 181 (The 19-year-old, who qualified for the Australian Open but lost a three-setter in the first round to Alison Van Uytvanck, reached the final of a $25K in Poitiers the week before Lyon (which upper her ranking 20 points. And then she defeated Cornet and Sasnovich en route to a quarter-final loss to Ferro there. It’s a career high and a debut in the top 200. She has already earned half the prize money in 2021 that she has for her entire career so far, and it’s only early March).

Daria Snigur (UKR): No. 220 ========> No. 195 (The 18-year-old won the $25K in Poitiers, France two weeks ago leaps into the top 200 for the first time. The former junior No. 2 did the Roehampton/junior Wimbledon double in 2019).

Urszula Radwanska (POL): No. 263 ========> No. 231 (Yes, the 30-year-old younger sister of Agnieszka is still out there, despite years of injury issues. She won a $25K in Moscow the last week of February. Her career high of No. 29 came all the way back in 2012).

Canadian rankings update

Here are the Canadian rankings, as of Monday.

For the complete, updated WTA Tour rankings picture, click here.

ATP Rankings Report – March 8, 2021

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