Iga Swiatek has her biggest ranking points lead at No. 1 in 14 months after winning Madrid

Iga Swiatek has strengthened her hold at No. 1 on the WTA rankings after winning the Mutua Madrid Open for the first time.

When she arrived in the Spanish capital, she led Aryna Sabalenka by 2,712 ranking points (10,560 to 7,848). But by winning the WTA 1000 event she’s now increased her lead over the world No. 2 by 700 points to 3,412 (10,910 to 7,498).

It’s Swiatek’s biggest lead at No. 1 since Indian Wells last year, exactly 14 months ago from March 6th to 19th, 2023, when she had a 4,485-point lead over Sabalenka (10,585 to 6,100).

She has an opportunity to increase her lead again after Rome, as she only has quarterfinal points to defend in the Italian capital. Her two closest challengers to the top ranking, Sabalenka and Coco Gauff, can make up some ground, too, as they both fell early at the WTA 1000 event last year.

WTA TOP 5’s CURRENT POINTS (and what they defend in Rome):
No. 1 Swiatek: 10,910 points [defending 215]
No. 2 Sabalenka: 7,498 points [defending 10]
No. 3 Gauff: 7,313 points [defending 65]
No. 4 Rybakina: 6,673 points [defending 1,000]
No. 5 Pegula: 4,655 points [defending 10]

Meanwhile, the top two performers at the men’s event in Madrid both rebound up the ATP rankings: Andrey Rublev, a former No. 5, rises from No. 8 to No. 6 after winning his second Masters 1000 title; and Felix Auger-Aliassime, a former No. 6, surges from No. 35 to No. 20 after reaching his first Masters 1000 final.

For Auger-Aliassime, it’s his first time inside the Top 20 in exactly six months. He dropped from No. 19 to No. 22 on November 6th, 2023 after falling in the second round of the Masters 1000 event in Paris, having reached the semifinals the year before during his incredible indoor run that fall.

Over on the WTA rankings, Marta Kostyuk breaks into the Top 20 for the first time. She got within striking distance of the elite two weeks ago, rising from No. 27 to No. 21 after reaching the final of the WTA 500 event in Stuttgart, and today—despite losing her opening match in Madrid—she inches up one spot into a new ranking class after some reshuffling in and around the Top 20.

And Mariano Navone continues his meteoric rise up the ATP rankings, rising from No. 41 to No. 31 after winning the Challenger in Cagliari, Italy during the second week of Madrid. The 23-year-old Argentine had never even been ranked in the Top 100 until February—but he’s been on a tear on clay since then, reaching his first ATP final in Rio de Janeiro, another semifinal in Marrakech and then another final in Bucharest. Now his Cagliari title has nearly pushed him into the Top 30, with a great chance of being seeded at Roland Garros.

Last but certainly not least, there are two new No. 1s this week, as Spain’s Marcel Granollers and Argentina’s Horacio Zeballos are the new co-No. 1s on the ATP doubles rankings.

The two have a fantastic resume together, winning five Masters 1000s (Canada in 2019, Rome in 2020, Madrid and Cincinnati in 2021 and Shanghai in 2023) and reaching three Grand Slam finals (US Open in 2019, Wimbledon in 2021 and Wimbledon again in 2023). They also made the ATP Finals final last year.

They replace Australia’s Matthew Ebden at the top spot.