Ranking Reaction: Kenin at new career-high; Svitolina back in Top 5

There were no tour-level events on the men’s side this past week—only Challengers and Davis Cup—so there wasn’t much movement on the ATP rankings. However, there were two WTA tournaments in Lyon, France and Monterrey, Mexico, and Sofia Kenin took full advantage to reach a new career-high.

By winning the International-level Open 6ème Sens, the American No. 1 not only captured her first WTA title since winning her first Grand Slam at the Australian Open, she also moved up from No. 5 to No. 4, becoming just the 15th U.S. player in WTA rankings history to reach the Top 4.

She had lost her opening match at both Dubai and Doha in between Melbourne and Lyon.

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“I wasn’t 100% in the last two weeks in Dubai and Doha, but I played some tough players,” she said during her run in Lyon. “I think this has been a good turnaround for me. I’ve had a few matches, and even though it’s not the best tennis, I would say, I’m playing better and better in each match win.

“It’s a good boost to my confidence after Melbourne, for sure.”

If she keeps this momentum going, Kenin could climb even higher in the next few months. She is only defending 85 ranking points until mid-May. Meanwhile, No. 3 Karolina Pliskova, who is 615 points ahead of her, is defending 931 points in that period; and No. 2 Simona Halep, who is 1,486 points ahead of her, is defending 1,160. No. 1 Ashleigh Barty is likely out of reach through Roland Garros.

Here are the 15 American women who have reached the Top 4 on the WTA rankings:

~ No. 1s: Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Tracy Austin, Monica Seles, Lindsay Davenport, Jennifer Capriati, Venus Williams, Serena Williams

~ No. 2s: Billie Jean King, Andrea Jaeger

~ No. 3s: Pam Shriver, Sloane Stephens

~ No. 4s: Zina Garrison, Mary Joe Fernandez, Sofia Kenin

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Across the pond, Svitolina was winning the other WTA event of the week—the Abierto GNP Seguros, and by doing so she bounced back into the Top 5, rising from No. 7 to No. 5. Perhaps surprisingly, the Ukrainian hadn’t captured a WTA title in more than 16 months—the last time she lifted a trophy came at the season-ending WTA Finals in Shenzhen in October 2018.

The woman Svitolina beat in the final on Sunday, Marie Bouzkova, rose from No. 57 to No. 47 after reaching the first WTA final of her career at the International-level event, her career Top 50 debut.

Other movers further down the rankings included former No. 45 Anna-Lena Friedsam, who rose from No. 136 to No. 106 after reaching the final of Lyon, her first WTA final since having two shoulder surgeries; and Canadian teenager Leylah Fernandez, who continued her climb towards the Top 100, rising from No. 126 to No. 118 after following up her Acapulco final with a quarterfinal in Monterrey.