Aryna Sabalenka retained her lead at the top of the WTA Rankings following the Canadian Open, but the Belarusian has lost her No 1 position in an alternative ranking system.

Four-time Grand Slam champion Sabalenka has occupied the WTA world No 1 ranking for 95 consecutive weeks since October 2024, and she has spent a total of 103 weeks in top spot.

With the WTA Tour now in Cincinnati after the conclusion of the Canadian Open, we look at how the UTR rating system ranks the top players in women’s tennis.

What is the UTR ranking system?

While the WTA Rankings system counts points earned in the last 52 weeks, Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) is based on an algorithm that places more weight on recent results and wins against higher-ranked players.

The UTR Rating system is open to players at all levels of tennis, and all players — regardless of age, gender, geography, or skill level — are rated on the same scale between 1.00 and 16.50 based on match results.

Only matches within the last 12 months are counted towards the rating, and the algorithm uses the last 30 matches a player competes in (or fewer if they played fewer than 30 in the last 12 months).

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The women’s UTR ratings

Sabalenka fell in the fourth round of the WTA 1000 event in Toronto, and she has 8,670 points, which puts her 354 points clear of world No 2 Elena Rybakina — who was a runner-up in Canada.

The world No 1 has, though, been replaced at the top of the UTR ratings, with her score falling to 13.07 after the Canadian Open.

Marta Kostyuk, who is the world No 11 on the WTA Tour, has won 24 of her 27 matches since the start of the clay-court season.

The 24-year-old Ukrainian holds a UTR rating of 13.08, and she has replaced Sabalenka at the top of the list.

Rybakina is third with a UTR rating of 13.05, while Coco Gauff is fourth with a score of 12.98.

Jessica Pegula, Elina Svitolina and Mirra Andreeva each have a rating of 12.94, and they are ranked fifth, sixth and seventh respectively.

Iga Swiatek, Linda Noskova and Naomi Osaka complete the top 10.

World No 20 Alex Eala is 23rd on the UTR list with a rating of 12.64, which is somewhat surprising given her stellar recent form.

UTR Ratings Women’s Top 10

1. Marta Kostyuk – 13.08 (WTA Ranking – 11)

2. Aryna Sabalenka – 13.07 (WTA Ranking – 1)

3. Elena Rybakina – 13.05 (WTA Ranking – 2)

4. Coco Gauff – 12.98 (WTA Ranking – 4)

5. Jessica Pegula – 12.94 (WTA Ranking – 3)

6. Elina Svitolina – 12.94 (WTA Ranking – 9)

7. Mirra Andreeva – 12.94 (WTA Ranking – 6)

8. Iga Swiatek – 12.93 (WTA Ranking – 5)

9. Linda Noskova – 12.89 (WTA Ranking – 8)

10. Naomi Osaka – 12.89 (WTA Ranking – 13)