Iga Swiatek more than doubles her lead at the top of WTA rankings after French Open triumph

Paris : Polish tennis star Iga Swiatek, who won the French Open women’s singles title on Saturday, has more than doubled her lead at the top of the WTA rankings, released on Monday. Swiatek, for whom this was the second singles title at Roland Garros after her run to the trophy in 2020, had entered the clay-court major a fortnight back enjoying a lead of 2,150-point over then-No. 2 Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic 7,061 to 4,911.

But following her success on the clay-court major, where she beat American youngster Coco Gauff in the final, the 21-year-old Swiatek now has a lead of 4,305-point over new world No. 2 Anett Kontaveit of Estonia 8,631 to 4,326. Swiatek’s 8,631 points are also 60 more than Kontaveit’s 4,326 and No. 3 Spaniard Paula Badosa’s 4,245 combined (8,571), according to tennis.com. Meanwhile, Kontaveit has set a new career high, rising from No. 5 to No. 2, while Ons Jabeur of Tunisia has moved from No. 6 to No. 4 to make her top-5 debut.

America’s Jessica Pegula, fresh from her maiden Roland Garros quarterfinal, has made a top-10 debut, leapfrogging from No. 11 to No. 8. She is the new American No. 1, edging out No. 9-ranked Danielle Collins. Pegula is the 32nd American woman to reach the top-10 in WTA rankings history, according to the report. “It’s just an amazing achievement,” Pegula said when told of the ranking projection during Roland Garros.

“It’s not that I didn’t think I would get there, it’s just when it happens, like, you can’t believe it. And it’s a pretty cool thing, I think, with tennis where you can say you’re a Top 10 best player in the world. That’s pretty, pretty awesome.” Gauff, who lost the French Open final to Swiatek, is also on the verge of top-10, having surged from No. 23 to a new high of No. 13. She became the youngest American woman to reach a Grand Slam final since Serena Williams at the 1999 US Open, according to the report.