U.S. Open finalist Aryna Sabalenka and men’s champion Novak Djokovic each moved up one spot in the world rankings Monday — the Belarusian is atop the WTA rankings for the first time in her career, so that the Serbian dominates the ATP ranking for a 390e week, a record — while the reigning champion, Coco Gauff, rose to third in the world in singles and first in doubles.
Sabalenka, a 25-year-old athlete, is number 29e player to dominate the WTA world rankings since it began to be computerized in the 1970s.
Her run in New York, which ended with a 6-2, 3-6, 2-6 loss to Gauff in the final on Saturday, allowed Sabalenka to move up one spot and overtake Iga Świątek, who is now no 2 in the world, she who has been at the top since April 2022. Świątek had triumphed at Flushing Meadows last year, but she was ousted in the fourth round this time.
“I’ve been playing well since the start of the year,” agreed Sabalenka, who won her first major title at the Australian Open and reached the final four at the French Open and Wimbledon earlier this year. I put a lot of pressure on her [Świątek]. »
Gauff, a 19-year-old Floridian, follows in third place, up six spots. Additionally, she and compatriot Jessica Pegula are now No. 1 in the women’s doubles world rankings, having reached the quarterfinals in New York.
Ontarian Gabriela Dabrowski, who won the women’s doubles title at the US Open on Sunday with her New Zealand playing partner Erin Routliffe, made a remarkable jump of 10 places in the rankings. She is now ninth in the world.
Furthermore, Ontario’s Bianca Andreescu lost 13 places in the world rankings and is now at 64e global level. Quebecer Leylah Annie Fernandez is the only other representative of the maple leaf to appear among the first 100, with her 74e position.
On the men’s side, Djokovic’s 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 victory over Daniil Medvedev on Sunday gave the 36-year-old veteran his 24e Grand Slam singles title. He thus equaled Margaret Court’s mark, and at the same time obtained the absolute record in this regard in the modern era – he has one major title more than the American Serena Williams.
Djokovic — who was already the all-time record holder for most weeks at the top of the world rankings — began the U.S. Open ranked second, behind Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz. The latter, champion in New York in 2022, bowed to Medvedev in the semi-finals.
This is the seventh change between Djokovic and Alcaraz in 2023. The last time the ATP rankings were this volatile was in 1999, when there were eight changes at the top of the men’s hierarchy .
For his part, Quebecer Félix Auger-Aliassime gained a place in the world rankings and is now at 14e step. Ontarian Denis Shapovalov fell five places and is now in 31ste position. Gabriel Diallo (158e), Vasek Pospisil (187e) and Alexis Galarneau (200e) are the other Canadian players ranked in the top 200.
With The Canadian Press