Four players are in the running to be the post-US Open No 1 in the WTA Rankings with Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula joining the battle after the Cincinnati Open.
Aryna Sabalenka has been top since October 2024, but her crown is under continued threat with Gauff and Pegula making it a four-way fight for the No 1 position along with Elena Rybakina.
The Belarusian started her 96th consecutive week at the top of the WTA Rankings on Monday to take her overall tally to 104, which puts her 10th on the all-time list for most weeks at No 1.
Sabalenka will add another two weeks to that total as she is guaranteed to remain there until 7 September, but she will struggle to keep the top spot after the US Open with Rybakina the favourite to take over.
WTA Rankings Top Four Ahead Of US Open
1. Aryna Sabaleka – 8,575
2. Elena Rybakina – 8,141
3. Jessica Pegula – 7,265
4. Coco Gauff – 6,704
Gauff added 785 points to her total with her Cincinnati Open title run as she was defending 215 points from 2025 and it pushed her into contention for the No 1 position with Pegula earning 585 points (she dropped 65 from 12 months ago) after finishing runner-up to her fellow American at the WTA 1000 event.
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Rybakina exited the Cincy event in the quarter-final as she retired from her match against Iga Swiatek due to injury and dropped 175 ranking points while Sabalenka lost in the fourth round and was -95 for the event.
Points Top Four Are Defending
All four will next be in action at the US Open and Sabalenka faces an uphill task to remain at No 1 as she is the defending champion at Flushing Meadows.
With the WTA using a rolling 52-week cumulative system to determine the rankings, it means she will drop 2,000 points at the start of the event.
The best-case scenario for Sabalenka is to defend her title and remain on 8,575 points when the rankings are updated on 14 September.
Pegula will drop 780 points as she was a semi-finalist 12 months ago while Rybakina and Gauff will both drop 240 points after losing in the fourth round in 2025.
Rybakina’s No 1 Spot To Lose?
The reigning US Open champion has her No 1 destiny in her own hands as she will become No 1 if she reaches the semi-finals of the US Open.
Sabalenka, Pegula and Gauff will need to win the title and hope that Rybakina exits before the last four.
Basically, Rybakina starts the US Open on 7,966 points with Sabalenka on 6,575, Pegula with 6,485 and Gauff on 6,114. Should they all somehow lose in the first round, Rybakina will be No 1 after the tournament.
