Iga Swiatek once again lost her world tennis title to her great rival Aryna Sabalenka.
The world’s No. 1 women’s tennis title has officially changed hands after the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) updated the latest rankings today (October 21) Vietnam time.
Accordingly, Aryna Sabalenka has climbed to the world No. 1 position, dethroning her great rival Iga Swiatek – who will drop to No. 2 for the first time after 50 consecutive weeks on the throne.
This is not too surprising because Sabalenka is showing extremely impressive form after the 2024 Paris Olympics with championships at two WTA 1,000 tournaments in Cincinnati (USA) and Wuhan (China) and the title at the last Grand Slam of the year – US Open. On the other hand, Swiatek could not be present in the finals of Cincinnati and US Open, and withdrew from the following tournaments.
The competition for the world’s number 1 women’s tennis title at the moment is only a two-horse race between Swiatek and Sabalenka, since Ashleigh Barty retired and Naomi Osaka took a long break from competition, only returning this year.
Swiatek first became world No. 1 in April 2022, following Barty’s retirement. The Pole held the top spot for 75 weeks before Sabalenka took the crown in September 2023, after she finished runner-up at the US Open. The Belarusian lasted just eight weeks before Swiatek overtook her, only to regain it nearly a year later.
The WTA tournaments in Guangzhou, China and Tokyo, Japan will take place this week, but neither Aryna Sabalenka nor Iga Swiatek will be participating. The duo will return to action at the WTA Finals, which will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from November 2 to 9. Sabalenka will be the top seed at the prestigious event.
