WTA Rankings: Pegula, Navarro gainers after the US Open

Aryna Sabalenka won her third major trophy on Saturday, defeating Jessica Pegula in the US Open final, capping out the 2024 Grand Slam season.

Pegula is one of many Americans who have risen in this week’s PIF WTA Rankings after turning in career-best major performances at home.

The 30-year-old Pegula had a spectacular summer on the hard courts in North America, going 15-2 after defeating Sabalenka in Toronto and placing second in Cincinnati and Flushing Meadows.

Pegula returns to her career high of No. 3, moving up three spots from No. 6. She takes her turn against Coco Gauff, the defending champion who was defeated by Emma Navarro in the fourth round of the US Open.

Navarro achieves a noteworthy feat as she rises four spots to make her Top 10 debut at No.8, going on to reach her first Slam quarterfinal. The 23-year-old began 2024 at No. 32 and only made it into the Top 100 in May of last year. This season, she’s amassed a 51-21 record (45-20 in WTA main draws), with victories at Hobart, San Diego, Auckland, Toronto, and Monterrey, as well as a run to the Wimbledon quarterfinals and semifinals. This is her first Hologic WTA Tour triumph.

Early in the US Open, the next generation of Americans also started to cause a stir. In order to get to the third round of a Slam for the first time, Ashlyn Krueger, 20, defeated Mirra Andreeva. She also moved up eight spots to a new career high of No. 51.

The youngest player in the main draw, 16-year-old Iva Jovic, used her wild card well to defeat Magda Linette and win her first career Top 50 match. In the second round, she battled Ekaterina Alexandrova for three sets. Jovic soars up 99 spots to No. 290 and goes on to make it to the junior event semifinals.

The 15-year-old Julieta Pareja was the focal point of the qualifying round. Playing in her sixth professional event, the teenage Californian defeated Kayla Day and Lucrezia Stefanini to get to the preliminary round’s final round. Pareja rockets up 266 spots to No. 700 after winning her maiden professional title at the Ranco Santa Fe ITF W15 in June. After British player Hannah Klugman, rated No. 514, she is the second-highest ranked player born in 2009. After advancing to the US Open quarterfinals with Taylor Townsend, Katerina Siniakova has reclaimed her top spot in the doubles world rankings. This will be Siniakova’s seventh time at the top, having won with Coco Gauff at Roland Garros and Townsend at Wimbledon this year. In January 2019, Siniakova initially rose to the top spot and now returns to the top spot for the first time since September of last year.

This week, two first-time US Open quarterfinalists are back in the Top 20. Paula Badosa advances nine places to No. 20, while Beatriz Haddad Maia climbs five places to No. 16.

The last three weeks have been a much-needed turnaround for former No. 10 Haddad Maia. Her record stood at 20–21 a week prior to the US Open, and she had dropped out of the Top 20 in July. In response, she advanced to her sixth career final in Cleveland before overcoming Caroline Wozniacki and Anna Kalinskaya to reach the New York final eight.

Other notable rankings movements

Elina Avanesyan +1 to No.50: Though Avanesyan lost in the first round of the US Open to Haddad Maia, she nonetheless makes her Top 50 debut this week. The 21-year-old is the first Armenian to be ranked inside the Top 50.

Jessica Bouzas Maneiro +14 to No.60: For a second consecutive major, the 21-year-old Spaniard upset a seed en route to the third round. Bouzas Maneiro knocked out Katie Boulter in the second round and reaches a new career high.

Erika Andreeva +7 to No.68: Andreeva, 20, hits a new career high after reaching the US Open second round, where she took Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen to three sets.

Naomi Osaka +13 to No.75: Former World No.1 Osaka ousted Jelena Ostapenko in a marquee US Open first-round tilt before falling to eventual semifinalist Karolina Muchova.

Sara Errani +20 to No.76: The 37-year-old former No.5 made the US Open third round for the first time since 2015 and returns to her highest ranking since June 2023.

Elena-Gabriela Ruse +22 to No.100: As a qualifier at the US Open, Ruse upset Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova to reach the third round of a Slam for the first time. There, she held match point on Badosa before losing one of the best matches of the tournament. The 26-year-old Romanian returns to the Top 100 for the first time since July 2022.

Jessika Ponchet +39 to No.104: The French qualifier also reached the third round of a major for the first time thanks to Elena Rybakina’s withdrawal from the tournament. Ponchet, 26, reaches a new career high.

Maya Joint +24 to No.111: Last October, Joint was ranked No.1371. Since then, the 18-year-old Australian has been powering up the rankings at a steady pace. Joint qualified for her first tour-level main draw at the US Open, then upset Laura Siegemund to reach the second round — her 54th match-win of the season. She’s now at a new career high.

Varvara Lepchenko +40 to No.159: At the US Open, Lepchenko qualified and reached the second round of a Slam for the first time since Roland Garros 2021. The 38-year-old American is the oldest player in the Top 300.

Ena Shibahara +48 to No.169: Former doubles No.4 Shibahara’s focus on singles in 2024 paid off at the US Open, where she qualified for her first Grand Slam main draw and defeated Daria Saville to make the second round. The Japanese 26-year-old, who was the last direct acceptance to the qualifying draw, started the year at No.548 and makes her Top 200 debut this week.

Gao Xinyu +53 to No.185: The Chinese 26-year-old reached the biggest final of her career to date at last week’s Incheon ITF W100.