Aryna Sabalenka clinches year-end No. 1 after Iga Swiatek falls to Coco Gauff at WTA Finals

Reigning Australian Open and US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka has clinched the WTA’s year-end No. 1 ranking for 2024 after Iga Swiatek’s defeat to Coco Gauff at the WTA Finals on Tuesday.

After Sabalenka won her first two round-robin matches of the week, against Zheng Qinwen on Saturday and Jasmine Paolini on Monday, Swiatek’s only chance of finishing the year at No. 1 was to win the title undefeated, and for Sabalenka to not win another match.

Though Swiatek can certainly still win the title, with her loss on Tuesday, she won’t be able to catch up to Sabalenka’s ranking points total anymore, no matter what happens the rest of the week.

And so, Sabalenka is guaranteed to finish the year at No. 1, becoming the 16th player in WTA rankings history to achieve the feat, and just the second player born in 1998 or later to do it, after Swiatek.

WTA rankings began in 1975, with Chris Evert the first year-end No. 1.

WTA YEAR-END NO. 1s (since 1975):
8 times: Steffi Graf [1987-1990, 1993-1996]
7 times: Martina Navratilova [1978-1979, 1982-1986]
5 times: Chris Evert [1975-1977, 1980-1981]
5 times: Serena Williams [2002, 2009, 2013-2015]
4 times: Lindsay Davenport [1998, 2001, 2004-2005]
3 times: Monica Seles [1991-1992, 1995]
3 times: Martina Hingis [1997, 1999-2000]
3 times: Justine Henin [2003, 2006-2007]
3 times: Ashleigh Barty [2019-2021]
2 times: Caroline Wozniacki [2010-2011]
2 times: Simona Halep [2017-2018]
2 times: Iga Swiatek [2022-2023]
1 time: Jelena Jankovic [2008]
1 time: Victoria Azarenka [2012]
1 time: Angelique Kerber [2016]
1 time: Aryna Sabalenka [2024]

In terms of their titles this year, Sabalenka and Swiatek have run even, both earning 6,000 points. Grand Slams earn 2,000 points and WTA 1000 titles earn 1,000 points, and Sabalenka won two majors (4,000 points) and two WTA 1000s (2,000 points) while Swiatek won one major (2,000 points) and four WTA 1000s (4,000 points).

Both players performed exceptionally well all year but Sabalenka came into the WTA Finals this week with a 1,046-point cushion, largely thanks to reaching another three finals at Brisbane (a WTA 500) and Madrid and Rome (both WTA 1000s). Swiatek didn’t reach any more finals this year, though she did win all of her matches at United Cup, which counts as WTA 500-level ranking points.

At the end of the day, no matter how they do the rest of the week in Riyadh, Sabalenka will finish with more ranking points this year, and will thus finish at the top spot for the first time in her career.