Iga Swiatek retains WTA No.1 spot, Haddad Maia first Brazilian to reach top 10
Iga Swiatek reacts during her semi final match against Beatriz Haddad Maia (R) in Paris. Reuters /AFP
Beatriz Haddad Maia became the first Brazilian woman to reach the top 10 of the rankings following her dream run to the semi-finals of the French Open.
The 27-yaer-old beat Tunisia's Ons Jabeur in the last eight in Paris to become the first Brazilian woman in 55 years to reach a Grand Slam semi-final. She was eventually beaten by eventual champion Swiatek.
Brazilian women's has had precious little success since the days of Maria Bueno who claimed seven Grand Slam titles between 1959 and 1966 — long before the advent of the WTA rankings which were introduced in 1975. Three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten reached number one in the men's ATP rankings in 2000.
Maia will take a ranking of 10 into the grasscourt season in which she impressed last year and will feature in this week's Nottingham Open as build-up to Wimbledon begins.
Swiatek could have been overtaken by No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, depending on the results in Paris. Swiatek earned her third French Open trophy in four years and her fourth Grand Slam title overall with a 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 victory over Karolina Muchova on Saturday.
Swiatek has been at No. 1 since April 2022, when she moved there after Ash Barty retired.
Sabalenka, who won the Australian Open in January, had a chance to overtake Swiatek but lost in the semifinals in Paris to Muchova after holding a match point. Muchova soared all the way from 43rd to a career-high 16th in the rankings.
Reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, who withdrew before her third-round match at the French Open because of an illness, is at No. 3, and Caroline Garcia is at No. 4, with Jessica Pegula going from No. 3 to No. 5.
Maia became the first woman from Brazil to be ranked in the Top 10.
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic returned to No. 1 in the ATP rankings on Monday, replacing Carlos Alcaraz there, after winning the French Open for a men's-record 23rd Grand Slam title.
Djokovic now will add to the record he already held for the most weeks leading the tennis rankings - men's or women's - since the computerised system was set up a half-century ago.
"So, of course, when you talk about history, people mostly talk about the Grand Slams won or the amount of time you spent at the No. 1 rankings," Djokovic said. "I have managed to break the records in both of these statistics, which is amazing.”
Djokovic had been No. 3 going into the year's second major tournament, but winning it for the third time after exiting in the quarter-finals a year ago provided the points boost he needed to jump up to No. 1. He defeated Alcaraz 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 in the semifinals on Friday, then got past Casper Ruud 7-6 (1), 6-3, 7-5 in the final on Sunday.
It gave Djokovic three championships at Roland Garros, adding to his 10 from the Australian Open, seven from Wimbledon and three from the US Open. He had been tied with rival Rafael Nadal with 22 major trophies.
Alcaraz dropped to No. 2, Daniil Medvedev slid one place to No. 3 after a first-round exit in Paris, while Ruud remained at No. 4.
Nadal hasn't played since January because of a hip injury and so was unable to defend his title at the French Open. The inactivity sent him out of the Top 100 on Monday, to No. 136.
Agencies
