Rankings Winners & Losers: Hurkacz, Linette set new career-highs

Polish stars Hubert Hurkacz and Magda Linette jumped to new career-high rankings this week after winning their first career titles during the last week of lead-up tournaments to the US Open.

Having previously been 0-3 in his career in ATP quarterfinals, Hurkacz went all the way to his first ATP title in Winston-Salem. Seeded No. 3 at the 250-level event, he defeated No. 2 seed Denis Shapovalov in the semifinals, 6-3, 6-4, and No. 1 seed Benoit Paire in the final, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, to become the first Polish player to capture an ATP title since Wojtek Fibak conquered Chicago in 1982.

“That’s a lot of time without a Polish champion,” the 22-year-old said. “I am so glad that I have been able to win an ATP tour event. I hope many more guys will join me soon, and that I’ll win some more.”

On Monday, Hurkacz rose from No. 41 to No. 35, surpassing his previous career-high of No. 40.

Paire and Shapovalov’s deep runs also gave them bumps up the rankings, the Frenchman rising from No. 30 to No. 26 and the Canadian from No. 38 to No. 33. They’re both former Top 20 players.

The last US Open lead-up event on the women’s side took place in the Bronx, New York, and like her countryman Hurkacz, Linette came away with her first career title at the International-level event.

After making it out of the qualifying, the 27-year-old took out three seeds en route to the final—No. 9 seed Aliaksandra Sasnovich, No. 10 seed Karolina Muchova and No. 5 seed Katerina Siniakova. She and then battled back from a set down to beat Camila Giorgi of Italy in the final, 5-7, 7-5, 6-4.

“It means the world to me,” Linette said. “I’m 27, so it’s not super super young. So it really means a lot. It gives a boost for the confidence, and also a reward - it’s a reward for all of the hard work.”

She soared from No. 80 to No. 53 on the new rankings, passing her previous high of No. 55.

Without even hitting a ball, Madison Keys, who won the biggest title of her career in Cincinnati last week, rose from No. 10 to No. 9 on Monday—her highest ranking since she was ranked No. 9 during the Miami fortnight between March 20 and April 2, 2017. The rise came after Aryna Sabalenka dipped from No. 9 to No. 13 on the new rankings—the Belarusian didn’t play a tournament this past week, but she dropped points from her run to the Premier-level title in New Haven from a year ago.

Sabalenka’s fall also moved Sloane Stephens from No. 11 to No. 10, Anastasija Sevastova from No. 12 back to her career-high of No. 11 and Belinda Bencic from No. 13 to No. 12.

Another notable fall saw Monica Puig drop out of the Top 50 from No. 44 to No. 59. The Puerto Rican No. 1 had reached the semifinals of New Haven last year but didn’t play any event this past week.

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