Parks and Garcia after the Lyon final in 2023, won by Parks. Both had rankings rises this week and both are in the Dubai main draw.
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Two WTA 250s and a 125 in the week following the Australian Open meant a lot of opportunities for players not at the top of the rankings.
With the notable exception of Caroline Garcia, seeded No. 1 at her hometown tournament in Lyon, the vast majority of players making it to the final weekend in singles and doubles were unseeded.
That included 29-year-old Zhu Lin, who was ranked No. 87 when she reached the fourth round of the Australian Open and gave Victoria Azarenka everthing she could handle in defeat, after upsetting Maria Sakkari in the previous round.
Zhu backed up that impressive result with her first career WTA title in Thailand.
There are no changes in the top 30, most of whom were idle this past week.
No ATP rankings update this week, it being Davis Cup week and with only a few Challengers on the schedule.
For the complete WTA rankings, updated to Feb. 6, click here.
For the current ATP rankings, click here.
ON THE UPSWING
Bianca Andreescu (CAN): No. 42 =========> No. 37 (It could have, should have been more, but her semifinal in Hua Hin gets the Canadian back into the top 40 again. It’s the highest her ranking has been since Nov. 2021. She’s in Abu Dhabi this week, set to play a qualifier in the first round).
Zhu Lin (CHN): No. 54 =========> No. 41 (Already up from No. 87 to No. 54 with her effort in Melbourne, the 29-year-old wins her first career WTA tournament in Thailand, and reaches a career high – just 25 points out of the top 40).
Linda Noskova (CZE): No. 56=========> No. 50 (Noskova has shaken off her disappointment after arriving at the AO qualifying ranked No. 56, but still in the qualifying because the rise came too late. She had reached the Adelaide final from the qualifying, and had no gas in the tank when she lost to Katherine Sebov in the first round. Noskova qualified and made the QFs in Lyon, and is in Linz this week. She squeaks past more heralded Czech teen Linda Fruhvirtova by two points in the rankings).
Alycia Parks (USA): No. 79 =========> No. 51 (Like Noskova, Parks also bounced back from an early elimination at the AO Qualifying – she was at No. 76 after a late-season surge, but it was too late for the entry deadline. She wins her first career title in Lyon Sunday, defeating hometown hero Caroline Garcia – and the partisan crowd – in a high-quality final).
Camila Osorio (COL): No. 73 =========> No. 61 (Osorio’s rise has been slow and gradual with a few bumps along the way. But making the semis in Lyon puts her back in the top 60).
Lesia Tsurenko (UKR): No. 136 =========> No. 100 (Tsurenko, a former No. 23, gets back into the top 100 with her appearance in the finals at Hua Hin).
Nadia Podoroska (ARG): No. 156 =========> No. 114 (Podoroska, a former Roland Garros semifinalist and No. 36, was out a long time with injury and is slowing making her way back. She’s in the final/won the WTA 125 in Cali, Colombia this past week).
Peyton Stearns (USA): No. 188 =========> No. 137 (Stearns, 21, won a $25K in Orlando last week that’s just coming on the computer, and then won a $60K in Rome, Georgia Sunday. It’s a career high).
Paula Ormaechea (ARG): No. 206 =========> No. 156 (Now 30, the formerly highly-hyped prospect from South America, who did get to No. 59 at her peak, is still plugging away and made the WTA 125 final in Cali).
Robin Montgomery (USA): No. 212 =========> No. 192 (First trip to the top 200 for the 18-year-old American, who reached the final at the $25K in Orlando and the second round at the Rome ITF).
ON THE DOWNSWING
Camila Giorgi (ITA): No. 69 =========> No. 73 (Giorgi went out in the first round of qualifying in Lyon, but is in Linz this week).
Rebecca Marino (CAN): No. 70 =========> No. 74 (Marino is into the final round of qualifying in Abu Dhabi this week. In retrospect, although she was very disappointed after her first-round loss in Melbourne to Zhu Lin, that defeat doesn’t look nearly as bad given what the Chinese player has done since).
Emma Raducanu (GBR): No. 77 =========> No. 80 (No sign of Raducanu the last few weeks on tour, including next week in Abu Dhabi or Linz).
Sára Bejlek (CZE): No. 162 =========> No. 176 (The Czech junior now has the distinction of having defeated Alycia Parks in the Australian Open qualifying a few weeks ago – the same Parks who just won her first WTA Tour title in Lyon Sunday. She drops some points from aquarterfinal effort at a $25K a year ago. Bejlek qualified at the US Open last summer, too. So clearly she has an ability on the big occasions. Unfortunately she ended up facing Liudmila Samsonova in New York, and Barbora Krejcikova in Melbourne in the first rounds).
THE CANADIANS
Andreescu squeezes by Leylah Fernandez and is back as the No. 1 Canadian in the WTA Tour rankings.
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Is Victoria Mboko injured? Haven’t seen her name in a tournament for some time. Tks.
Probably.That’s usually the reason. They decided that none of that group would play the Australian Open juniors for whatever reqason, rather would play small pro events in the U.S. instead.
But not many of them did in the end, and she didn’t play any.
Every time I saw her last year her knee was heavily taped up (and other body parts, too).