Several big-name players will drop a substantial amount of points at the upcoming China Open, but Elena Rybakina finds herself on the opposite end of the scale, and she has an opportunity to increase her lead at the top of the rankings.

The WTA uses a rolling 52-week, cumulative system to determine the WTA Rankings and, as a result, players drop points they earned from the corresponding tournament/period 12 months ago at the start of the current event before earning points for round-by-round progression.

But there is a caveat, as the China Open takes place one week later than in 2025 so players will also drop/defend points from last year’s Wuhan Open, which took place a week earlier, as there is an overlap between the two events.

Thus, players’ points from both last year’s tournaments in Beijing and Wuhan are listed below.

Amanda Anisimova won the China Open last year while Coco Gauff will be the defending champion in Wuhan.

Points The Big-Name Players Will Drop

Elena Rybakina – 215

Having secured the No 1 ranking at the US Open, Rybakina has a 2,026-point lead over No 2 Aryna Sabalenka and she has a chance to build on that.

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Just to add to the confusion of players dropping points from both Beijing and Wuhan, the three-time Grand Slam winner will drop only points from Wuhan last year as her Beijing result is not required to be counted in her ranking points.

Last year, Rybakina reached the third round in China and the quarter-finals in Wuhan.

Aryna Sabalenka – 390

The former world No 1 didn’t play at last year’s China Open as she took an extended break after her US Open title run, but she returned in Wuhan when she reached the semi-final before losing against Jessica Pegula.

A deep run at both events coupled with early exits for Rybakina could see her chip away at the Kazakh star’s lead.

Jessica Pegula – 390 + 650

The world No 3 was a semi-finalist in Beijing 12 months ago so she will drop 390 points and she won’t be able to make up those points as she has withdrawn from the tournament due to injury.

Pegula also finished runner-up to Gauff in Wuhan so that’s another 650 points that will come off, but as things stand, she is set to compete in the second leg of the WTA 1000 event in China.

Coco Gauff – 390 + 1,000

The two-time Grand Slam winner currently sits at No 4 in the rankings, but she could slide down the list if she fails to perform well in China as she will start the tournament at -1,390.

Gauff reached the semi-final in Beijing in 2025 and then went all the way at the Wuhan Open.

Mirra Andreeva – 120 + 10

The reigning French Open champion is just 1,403 points behind Gauff in the rankings, but that lead will disappear once Gauff’s points from 2025 are removed.

Andreeva lost in the fourth round in Beijing last year and in the second round in Wuhan, but she is already guaranteed to win back those 10 points in Wuhan as seeded players have a bye into the second round and earn 10 points.

Linda Noskova – 650 + 120

The Wimbledon champion finished runner-up to Anisimova at the 2025 China Open and reached the third round in Wuhan.

Elina Svitolina – 0

The Ukrainian, currently seventh in the rankings, has an opportunity to move up as she won’t drop any points as she didn’t compete at either event in 2025.

Karolina Muchova – 120 + 65

The two-time Grand Slam finalist reached the fourth round in Beijing in 2025 and the second round in Wuhan.

Iga Swiatek – 120 + 215

Six-time Grand Slam winner Swiatek didn’t have the best of China swings last year as she was the top seed in Beijing, but lost in the fourth round and the quarter-finals in Wuhan.

Amanda Anisimova – 1,000

The world No 10 defeated Noskova in the 2025 China Open final, but didn’t play in Wuhan due to injury.

Belinda Bencic – 120 + 120

World No 12 Bencic lost in the fourth round in China and the third round in Wuhan.

Iva Jovic – 10 + 140

World No 13 Jovic will be seeded 10th in China and she is in a good position as she lost in the first round last year and the third round in Wuhan after earning a spot in the main draw as a lucky loser.

Naomi Osaka – 10 + 65

The former world No 1 also has an opportunity to move up the rankings as she lost in the second round at both tournaments last year.

Jasmine Paolini – 215 + 390

The Italian has struggled so far this year, but she had an excellent double-header last year as she was a quarter-finalist at the China Open and a semi-finalist at the Wuhan Open.

Alex Eala – 35

The world No 18 is in a good position as she didn’t feature at either the China Open or Wuhan Open last year (she lost in the first round of qualifying at the latter event), thus will only drop points from her sixth-best combined WTA 1000 tournament result from 2025.

Of course, she won’t be able to make up those points at the China Open as she won’t compete after committing to the Asian Games, but she is set to feature in Wuhan.

Emma Raducanu – 65 + 10

The former world No 10 has slumped to No 98 in the WTA Rankings on the back of her lengthy injury absence and she could find herself out of the top 100 after the China Open as she will once again not compete

Raducanu lost in the third round in Beijing last year and retired from her first-round match at Wuhan.