Possible coup behind Iga Świątek's back. It's worth supporting... Arina Sabalenko!

Before the start of the competition in Foro Italico, Świątek had as many as 3412 points ahead of the second in the standings, Aryna Sabalenka. After deducting points for last year’s performance in Rome and the first week of the current competition Poland has 3207 points remainingBut it is not worth clinging to these values at the moment.

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As we wrote over the weekend, In Rome, Svitek must defeat Angelique Kerber on Monday (3pm), To defend last year’s point total. Meanwhile, Sabalenka has already begun to increase its account, because in the Italian capital this year it is doing much better than last time. Everything will be decided in the coming days anyway. This is when we will finally see what advantage the Pole will have at Roland Garros. In the best case scenario (i.e. our compatriot’s win in Rome, Sabalenka’s defeat in the fourth round and Coco Gauff’s quick failure) it could reach 4087 points! That would be a real knockout.

Aryna Sabalenka’s decline should not come as good news for Iga Švetek

But this is where we reach the most interesting moment. It may turn out – and this is quite a possible scenario – that Sabalenka will not be ranked behind Światek at the start of the major tournament in Paris. In Rome, Gauff still has a chance to leapfrog the Belarusian in the world rankings. The tennis players are currently only 240 points apart, so the gap could easily be eliminated next week.

However, such a potential coup behind Świentek’s back would not be very beneficial to the Poles. That means it During the draw for the French Open, there will be a risk of facing Sabalenka in the semi-finals, and not just in the title fight as is the case currently..

Watch the summary of the last match of Światek and Sabalenka in the WTA 1000 final in Madrid:

Meanwhile, in Rome, the Belarusian is struggling not only to maintain her position in second place in the WTA rankings, but also to advance to second place in the WTA race rankings (the rating only takes into account this year’s achievements and selects participants in the finals WTA End of Season – Editor’s Note). In it, Elena Rybakina stands behind Świątek, but she does not play in Roma, so for now she can only watch the actions of her rivals. He currently leads by only 185 points over Sabalenka.

Iga Świątek begins her 103rd week as leader of the WTA Rankings

Świątek is looking down on ranking battles and is increasing the number of weeks she spends as leader of the WTA rankings. On Monday, she began her 103rd week And in the all-time rankings he remains in ninth place.

The absolute leaders of “longest reigning” tennis players are impressive: Steffi Graf (377 weeks), Martina Navratilova (332), Serena Williams (319), Chris Evert (260), Hingis (209), Monica Seles (178). It will take Świątek many years in her current form to come close to these celebrities. In front of her is Justine Henin, who has topped the WTA rankings for 117 weeks.