WTA Race Update: Sabalenka and Swiatek leads comfortable, Raducanu and Fernandez boost their position

The hardcourt swing is now underway, with the WTA 500 DC Open as the first major event, and the WTA Race to Riyadh is seeing movements with several players closing the distance to the top. Without the presence of the tour leaders, Aryna Sabalenka remains at the summit, closely followed by Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff, the recent champions at Wimbledon and the French Open, respectively.

It's worth remembering that the WTA Race exclusively measures points earned in 2025 and will determine the 8 players who qualify for the WTA Finals at the end of the season. It will also dictate year-end rankings, with monetary prizes for players who finish with a better ranking and the highly anticipated pursuit of finishing the year in the top 10.

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka (7,395 points) remains at the top of the Race with almost 1,500 points advantage over her immediate pursuer, Iga Swiatek (5,993 points). The Belarusian has not won any Grand Slams, but her great consistency throughout the year with three titles to her name and being the player with the most victories in major tournaments (17), reaching two finals (Australia, Paris) and semifinals (Wimbledon), places her comfortably.

In third place, Coco Gauff (4,619 points) remains comfortable, having held a podium spot for the past months and appearing difficult to overtake, with a lead of over 500 points on Madison Keys (4,115 points) – Australian Open champion. Furthermore, 5th place is taken by Mirra Andreeva (4,089 points), champion of Indian Wells and Dubai Open. The top 5 remain comfortably at the top of the Race and seem to have a practically assured spot in the WTA Finals, although for now only Sabalenka is mathematically qualified.

Top contenders miss opportunities in DC Open

The DC Open was last week's big event, and it only featured a couple of top-10 tennis players: Americans Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro, though both fell in their second-round debuts (after receiving byes in the first round). Pegula (3,311 points) remains in 7th place, while Navarro (2,240 points) is in 12th place, missing an opportunity to close the gap on the tour leaders.

On the other hand, and without being in competition, Amanda Anisimova (3,463 points) remains in 6th place – taking advantage of Pegula's early elimination. Jasmine Paolini currently occupies the last WTA Finals qualification spot, though she is virtually tied with Elena Rybakina, who was one win away from displacing the Italian from the top 8.

Winners of the Week

Elena Rybakina was in 9th place a week ago, and being one of the few top players in competition, she had the chance to move into qualification spots, having been knocking on the door of the top all season. The Kazakh reached the semifinals of the DC Open and ended up falling to Leylah Fernandez in a match decided by three tie-breaks. The Kazakh closed the gap on Paolini and is now just 5 points behind – virtually tied, where a single match can make the difference between who qualifies for the Finals and who doesn't.

Precisely Leylah Fernandez recovered positions in the Race after winning her first WTA 500 title. She advanced from No. 40 to No. 23, an important leap with an eye on finishing the year high in the ranking. The Canadian is full of confidence for the rest of the hardcourt swing, and steps away from entering the top 20, positions she hasn't held since the months following her 2021 US Open campaign – where she reached the final and fell to Emma Raducanu.

The Brit was another who had a good campaign at the DC Open, reaching the semifinals of a WTA 500 for the first time and accumulating important points for the Race. She moved from No. 32 to No. 25, and is in great form for the end of the year. Finishing the year within the top 30 would be an important prize for Raducanu this season as she continues to seek the forefront, especially because she could eventually secure a seeded position in Grand Slam tournaments next year.

Champions of the week

DC Open: Leylah Fernandez (+470)

Prague Open: Marie Bouzkova (+250)

Runners-up

DC Open: Anna Kalinskaya (+305)

Prague Open: Linda Noskova (+150)