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Tennis News, WTA Tennis Players

The WTA Rankings would be unrecognisable without COVID


While the men’s rankings would be shifted noticeably by a raw-points ATP system, the official WTA rankings would be completely dismantled without protected points. 

Both the ATP and WTA Rankings have adopted revamped points systems since returning from the pandemic break. Multiple protections are provided for points of players who are unwilling or unable to compete due to the COVID pandemic.

Basically, points won in 2019 and 2020 are retained to an extent, meaning players who have little play time or poorer recent results have protections on their rankings. But, the current system does not necessarily create the clearest image on top-performing players right now, especially in the women’s game

Below is how the WTA top-10 would look compared to the official WTA Rankings

WTA Top-10 Based on Raw Points

Rank Player Points Position Shift from Offical WTA Rankings
1. Naomi Osaka 4,700 ↑ 1
2. Victoria Azarenka 3,061 ↑ 13
3. Iga Swiatek 3,002 ↑ 13
4. Jennifer Brady 2,743 ↑ 10
5. Elise Mertens 2,621 ↑ 12
6. Garbine Muguruza 2,355 ↑ 7
7. Aryna Sabalenka 2,097 ↑ 1
8. Serena Williams 1,980 ↓ 1
9. Simona Halep 1,950 ↓ 6
10. Sofia Kenin 1,813 ↓ 6

 

Official WTA Top-10

Rank Player Points
1. Ashleigh Barty 9,186
2. Naomi Osaka 7,835
3. Simona Halep 7,255
4. Sofia Kenin 5,760
5. Elina Svitolina 5,370
6. Karolina Pliskova 5,205
7. Serena Williams 4,915
8. Aryna Sabalenka 4,815
9. Bianca Andreescu 4,735
10. Petra Kvitova 4,571

 

Naomi Osaka would be the outright world No. 1, having claimed two of the three Grand Slams since the restart with an undefeated run of 21-0. Meanwhile, Ashleigh Barty truly benefits from the protected points system, not even appearing in the raw top-10.

No. 2 through 6 are completely overhauled, with each raw-points ranked player not appearing in the official top-10, with Azarenka, Swiatek, Brady and Mertens all climbing at least ten spots.


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