Ranking Reaction: Coco Gauff sets new career-high of No. 7, Donna Vekic surges back into Top 50

There are some very notable shifts on the new WTA rankings this week, including another new career-high for the only teenager in the Top 50.

Coco Gauff rises from No. 8 to No. 7 after reaching the quarterfinals of the WTA 500 event in San Diego, which was the seventh time she’s reached the quarterfinals or better at a WTA event this year—all of them at the WTA 500 level or higher.

And if year-to-date results are anything to go by, the 18-year-old could climb higher in these last few weeks of the season—she’s No. 4 on the year-to-date standings.

The biggest rise for a player in the Top 50 this week goes to Donna Vekic, who surges up 30 spots from No. 77 to No. 47 after reaching the equal-biggest final of her career in San Diego, having previously made a WTA 500 final in St. Petersburg in 2019.

Vekic, perhaps best known for reaching the US Open quarterfinals in 2019 and going as high as No. 19 on the WTA rankings a few months later, was still in the Top 20 as recently as 2020 but after a few injury-marred years since then—including undergoing right knee surgery in 2021—she dipped as low as No. 112 earlier this year.

But now, the big-hitting Croat is back in the Top 50 for the first time in 15 months after her fantastic week in San Diego, where she came through qualifying and ended up taking out four consecutive current or former Top 10 players en route to the final (No. 7 Maria Sakkari, No. 22 Karolina Pliskova, No. 5 Aryna Sabalenka, No. 19 Danielle Collins).

The woman who beat both Gauff (in the quarters) and Vekic (in the final), Iga Swiatek, doesn’t move from No. 1 this week, but she does increase her lead at the top spot.

Last week, she was 5,600 points ahead of No. 2-ranked Ons Jabeur (10,485 to 4,885). Now, with her San Diego champion’s points being added, as well as last year’s Indian Wells points dropping, she’s 6,280 points ahead of the Tunisian (10,835 to 4,555).

The winner of last week’s other WTA event in Cluj-Napoca, Romania—Anna Blinkova—jumps 59 spots from No. 138 to No. 79 today, her first time in the Top 100 in more than a year. The Russian has been ranked as high as No. 54 on the WTA rankings.

Over on the ATP rankings, American J.J. Wolf makes one of the biggest jumps in the Top 100, going from No. 75—his previous career-high—to No. 56 after reaching the first ATP final of his career in Florence, Italy, where he fell to Felix Auger-Aliassime.

And former world No. 3 Dominic Thiem continues his climb back up the rankings this week, rising 33 spots from No. 165 to No. 132 after reaching the semifinals in Gijon, Spain, where he fell to eventual champion Andrey Rublev.