WTA Rankings Report – As of Aug. 19, 2024

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Aryna Sabalenka sent a shot across the bow of the US Open, with the way she played in the Cincinnati final against Jessica Pegula.

If the courts in New York are anywhere near as quick as they were in Cincy, look out for her.

And the zen with which she did it was just the cherry on top.

Others to improve their lot considerably included Paula Badosa, who will be seeded at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in two years.

For the complete, updated WTA rankings, click here.

ATP Tour Rankings Report – As of Aug. 19, 2024

Aryna Sabalenka (RUS): No. 3 =========> No. 2 (Sabalenka’s title in Cincinnati and Coco Gauff’s failure to defend her title mean that Sabalenka takes the No. 2 spot, and the bottom slot in the draw, before the US Open. And she’s ahead of Gauff by more than 350 points, too).

Diana Shnaider (RUS): No. 20 =========> No. 18 (Another career high for the 20-year-old Russian after she makes the third round in Cincinnati. A dangerous floater in the later rounds in New York, for sure).

Mirra Andreeva (RUS): No. 24 =========> No. 21 (Another career high for Andreeva, who made the quarters in Cincy and – let’s remind each other – is still just 17).

***Photo: Cincy Tennis/Jared Wickerham***

Leylah Fernandez (CAN): No. 26 =========> No. 24 (Another little step for Fernandez, who had a great Cincinnati and nearly made the semis in singles, before losing a marathon to Jessica Pegula. And she made the final of the doubles with Yulia Putintseva, with whom she’ll also play the US Open. If she’d rather have had some time off this week, she’s playing singles AND doubles again in Cleveland. This time with sister Bianca, with whom she made the Toronto final).

Paula Badosa (ESP): No. 36 =========> No. 27 (Badosa is on her way back for real after a Cincinnati semifinal puts her back into the top 30. No longer will she be a potential danger lurking in the early rounds. She’ll be seeded at a major for the first time in two years).

Taylor Townsend (USA): No. 51 =========> No. 46 (Finally, at 28, the talented Taylor Townsend gets into the top 50 in singles for the first time. She qualified and made the third round in Cincinnati after rushing from Toronto).

Elina Avanesyan (ARM): No. 60 =========> No. 51 (A career high for the new Armenian, who came into the main draw in Cincinnati as a lucky loser, beat Bianca Andreescu and Jelena Ostapenko and reached the third round. She beat wild card Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the first round in Monterrey).

Nadia Podoroska (ARG): No. 88 =========> No. 67 (Podoroska wins a WTA 125 in Barranquilla last week, and jumps up 20 spots in the rankings. She plays No. 9 seed Magdalena Frech in the first round of Monterrey).

Caroline Wozniacki (DEN): No. 84 =========> No. 70 (Winning just one round in Cincinnati was worth 13 spots in the rankings to Wozniacki, who is straight into the US Open on her own ranking).

Nuria Parrizas Diaz (ESP): No. 118 =========> No. 99 (The former No. 45 is back in the top 100 after winning the $100K ITF in Cary, NC last week. She’s in the US Open qualifying, and won her first-round match).

Ena Shibahara (JPN): No. 235 =========> No. 218 (The top doubles specialist is giving it a go in singles this year. And she gets to a career high by qualifying and winning a round at the Cary ITF. She was the last to squeeze into the US Open qualifying, which is her Grand Slam debut in singles. She’ll meet Katarina Zavatska in the first round).

Coco Gauff (USA): No. 2 =========> No. 3 (Gauff is in the middle of the summer of defence. And Part I – Cincinnati – did not go so well. She lost to Yulia Putintseva in the second round, and drops to No. 3 with 2,000 more points to defend next week at the US Open).

Ons Jabeur (TUN): No. 16 =========> No. 17 (Certainly concerns about Jabeur and her shoulder coming into New York, as she pulled out of Cincinnati and the hard-court swing she chose instead of the Olympics is not turning out as planned).

Marketa Vondrousova (CZE): No. 18 =========> No. 22 (Vondrousova is out of the top 20 after missing Toronto and Cincinnati. And she’s going to miss the US Open, too. It’s been a tough 2024; her career high of No. 6 came after last year’s US Open. Right now, she’s at No. 22, won’t defend a quarterfinal and will drop out of the top 30).

Linda Noskova (CZE): No. 31 =========> No. 35 (Noskova looks to have taken herself out of a seeded spot in New York after losing in the first round in CIncinnati. She’s playing Monterrey this week and will play qualifier Anna Danilina).

Marie Bouzkova (CZE): No. 37 =========> No. 42 (A first-round exit for Bouzkova, who made the quarterfinals in Cincinnati a year ago).

Karolina Muchova (CZE): No. 35 =========> No. 52 (Muchova got a tough draw in Cincinnati as she faced Toronto champion Pegula, who ended up making the final. As a result, she drops a ton of points from a year ago, and is out of the top 50).

Yafan Wang (CHN: No. 62 =========> No. 78 (It’s mostly been all one way up for Wang since she returned from a long absence. But although she qualified in Cincinnati, she lost in the first round. And drops points from going qualiies-to-title at a WTA 125 in Stanford last year. She plays Sara Sorribes Tormo in Cleveland in the first round).