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Just one tournament at the WTA level, in Stuttgart. But plenty of higher-level ITFs so plenty of opportunities for players to try to move their rankings up.

Maybe even squeeze into the Roland Garros qualifying, for which the deadline is in a week.

But even though almost all the top players played in Stuttgart, the first rankings change comes at No. 15.

It’s also worth noting that for players outside the top 32 who are defending points in Rome and Madrid, the expansion to a 96 draw means they’ll have to win an extra match, just to post the same result as a year ago and defend it.

(For the complete, updated WTA rankings update, click here).

ATP Rankings Report – As of April 23, 2023

ON THE UPSWING

Karolina Pliskova (CZE): No. 17 =========> No. 15 (Pliskova, who has been very silent for the most part since returning from injury a year ago, has a bit of a renaissance week in making the Stuttgart quarterfinals, and giving Iga Swiatek a run for her money. And then promptly pulls out of Madrid).

Marie Bouzkova (CZE): No. 34 =========> No. 31 (On the bubble for Stuttgart, Bouzkova chose the $100K ITF in Portugal instead, as a sure thing. Just by making the quarterfinals she moves up three spots. She’s the No. 29 seed in Madrid and could face Elina Svitolina in the second round).

Danka Kovinic (MNE): No. 72 =========> No. 57 (Kovinic’s road to winning the Oeiras Challenger went through Genie Bouchard in the second round. It’s been awhile between good results for her, so that’s encouraging. She drew a qualifier in the first round of Madrid).

Tatjana Maria (GER): No. 71 =========> No. 66 (French from a win at high altitude outdoors on clay in Bogota, Maria returned to Stuttgart to play BJK Cup – and then, with a wild card, won a round in the main draw to move up five more spots. She gets a player half her age – Filipino teen Alexandra Eala, in the first round of Madrid).

Cristina Bucsa (ESP): No. 77 =========> No. 70 (Bucsa is a quiet one, known this year for upsetting Bianca Andreescu at the Australian Open. She plays qualifying most weeks, and often makes it. That’s what she did in Stuttgart, winning a round in the main draw as well and moving to a career high. She gets countrywoman Rebeka Masarova in the first round of Madrid).

Peyton Stearns (USA): No. 89 =========> No. 72 (Stearns, who turned pro after several years in college, reaches the final at the $100K ITF in Charleston and moves to yet another career high).

Rebeka Masarova (ESP): No. 93 =========> No. 74 (We first saw Masarova, then playing for Switzerland, when she won the Roland Garros junior girls’ title in 2016 over a 14-year-old Amanda Anisimova. She plays for Spain now, and it’s taken awhile to get here. But she has made a nice move this year and moves up to a career high after reaching the Oeiras Challenger final).

Emma Navarro (USA): No. 121 =========> No. 101 (Navarro’s decision to spend a short time in college before turning pro might have seemed borderline. But slowly but surely she has moved up. She got a wild card into the Charleston tournament a few weeks ago – owned by her father – and went right to a late wild card entry into a $25K in Boca Raton, where she made the quarterfinals. And then, this week, she wins the $100K ITF in Charleston. It’s a career high and she’s outside the top 100 by seven little points).

Erika Andreeva (RUS): No. 119 =========> No. 114 (The 18-year-old made the Oeiras quarterfinal, and moves up to a career high. Her 15-year-old sister Mirra is nipping at her heels).

Lucrezia Stefanini (ITA): No. 128 =========> No. 117 (Not sure why someone with that ranking is playing $25K ITFs in Sharm El Sheikh. But Stefanini won one two weeks ago, and lost in the first round of another last week for a total gain of 11 spots).

Clara Tauson (DEN): No. 132 =========> No. 121 (Tauson has been back from injury for awhile, but has sort of been wallowing around this area of the rankings for awhile. She moves up with a quarterfinals in Oeiras).

Caroline Dolehide (USA): No. 152 =========> No. 129 (Dolehide won the $25K ITF in Boca Raton two weeks ago, and reached the semifinals of the $100K last week for a nice jump in the rankings).

Mirra Andreeva (RUS): No. 243 =========> No. 194 (Andreeva, about to turn 16, is combining with her sister Erika to a Russian edition of the similarly-aged Fruhvirtova sisters. She won her second consecutive $60K ITF in Switzerland last week and moves up nearly 50 spots and jumps into the top 200 for the first time She hits the big time with a wild card in Madrid; Andreeva will meet Leylah Fernandez in the first round).

*Bouchard during her first-round qualifying match against Ashlyn Krueger at the Australian Open in January.*

Eugenie Bouchard (CAN): No. 298 =========> No. 285 (Winning a round at the ITF in Portugal was worth 13 spots to the Canadian, who squeezed into the Madrid qualifying on her protected ranking but will run into Sara Sorribes Tormo on Monday).

Fiona Ferro (FRA): No. 455 =========> No. 365 (A bit of good news for Ferro, who has had a very tough year. The former No. 39 qualifies and reaches the final of the $60K in Bellinzona last week, and moves up 90 spots).

ON THE DOWNSWING

Liudmila Samsonova (RUS): No. 15 =========> No. 18 (Samsonova went to the semis at Stuttgart a year ago – taking eventual champion Iga Swiatek to 7-5 in the third set before bowing out. But she lost in the first round this year. Her quiet 2023 continues; Samsonova could get Sofia Kenin in the second round of Madrid).

Ajla Tomljanovic (AUS): No. 36 =========> No. 41 (Out injured – her last matches were during the BJK Cup finals last November – Tomljanovic drops the points from last year’s quarterfinal in Istanbul).

Paula Badosa (ESP): No. 31 =========> No. 42 (Badosa made the Stuttgart semifinals a year ago. So even though she actually had a great week there this year and played some excellent tennis, she falls out of the top 40 by bowing out to pal Aryna Sabalenka in a well-played match last Friday. She still squeezes in as a seed in Madrid and gets a bye, and a decent second-round match. But that won’t be the case in Rome and unless she makes a good run at one of the 1000s, may well still hold true at Roland Garros).

Yulia Putintseva (KAZ): No. 45 =========> No. 51 (Putintseva was a semifinalist a a year ago in Istanbul. But that tournament didn’t happen this year. And her ranking would have put her in the qualifying in Stuttgart. Of course, she could have tried one of the ITFs. But there were 110 points to defend; she would have had to make the final to even come close – and that, after playing BJK Cup in Kazakhstan indoors on hard, and flying and jet-lagging back to Europe to play outdoors on clay. Tough luck for her, because she’s now out of the top 50).

Emma Raducanu (GBR): No. 68 =========> No. 85 (It won’t affect her ability to get wild cards. But Raducanu is way down after getting dusted off 6-2, 6-1 by Jelena Ostapenko in the first round of Stuttgart. Last year, she made a run to the quarterfinals with a brilliantly favorable draw, losing to Swiatek).

Anett Kontaveit (EST): No. 69 =========> No. 87 (The former No. 2 has been MIA for months now, playing just six matches – she’s 2-4 – and none since Abu Dhabi in early February. She resurfaced to play BJK Cup for Estonia 10 days ago. And the Estonian is back in the draw at a WTA this week in Madrid for the first time, but gets a tough opener against Karolina Muchova).

Louisa Chirico (USA): No. 188 =========> No. 239 (Chirico tried, but she lost in the first round of Charleston ITF and second round of the Boca Raton $25K. She was defending points from a title at a $60K in Charlottesville so now, with the Roland Garros qualifying deadline in a week and the current cutoff at about No. 220, she might be in tough to make it).