Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images

Serena Williams’ former coach names the player who will steal Aryna Sabalenka’s top spot in 2025

Originally posted on HITC | By Matthew Johns | Last updated Jul 21, 2025 3:12 PM ET

Aryna Sabalenka is still searching for her first major title of 2025 after coming up short again at Wimbledon.

She was knocked out in the semi-finals by Amanda Anisimova, matching her best previous result at the grass court major.

Sabalenka has been a force on the WTA Tour this season, but she is still without a Slam. She lost to Coco Gauff in the Roland Garros final and to Madison Keys in Melbourne earlier in the year.

The Belarusian has come up short late in tournaments before. Now, there is talk that she could soon be overtaken by one of her main rivals.

Rick Macci backs Iga Swiatek to reclaim world number one spot before the end of 2025

Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images

Sabalenka’s run to the Wimbledon semi-finals took her ranking points total to a level not seen since Serena Williams.

But despite her strong position, there are doubts about how long she can hold onto it following Swiatek’s recent form.

The two have been close rivals for a while now, though Swiatek had struggled earlier this year with a dip in performance.

Now back in form and fresh off her sixth major title, Rick Macci, who has worked with both Williams sisters and Maria Sharapova, thinks Swiatek is ready to take over again by the end of the season.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Macci wrote: “It will happen sooner than later as Iga will again be number one on the planet because her mind is made of granite. Not a lot of points to defend and the Polish Punisher will be number one by years end.”

It will happen sooner than later as Iga will again be number one on the planet because her mind is made of granite. Not a lot of points to defend and the Polish Punisher will be number one by years end.
— Rick Macci (@RickMacci) July 20, 2025

How do the WTA rankings look now?

Sabalenka currently holds a commanding lead over world number two Gauff in the WTA rankings, with nearly 5,000 points separating them.

That gap becomes even wider when comparing Sabalenka and Swiatek. As Rick Macci pointed out, the Polish player has very few points left to defend this season.

WTA Ranking	Total Ranking points	Position in the WTA Race	Points defending until the end of 2025
1. Aryna Sabalenka	12,420	1st	5,025
2. Coco Gauff	7,669	3rd	3,060
3. Iga Swiatek	6,813	2nd	830

After missing several tournaments at the end of 2024 due to a one-month ban, Swiatek now has just 830 ranking points to defend this year. Meanwhile, US Open champion Sabalenka has 5,025 points still to defend.

Even so, the Belarusian star remains first in the race to the WTA Finals and is still in a strong position to finish another year as world number one.

The three-time Grand Slam champion is next expected to play at Cincinnati after pulling out of the Canadian Open earlier this week.

This article first appeared on HITC and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: