By Claudio Girardelli, translated by Kingsley Elliot Kaye
The Mutua Madrid Open has crowned the first African winner of a WTA 1000, the Tunisian Ons Jabeur. After Iga Swiatek withdrew, all eyes were on other players: Paula Badosa, home player and second seed, as well as last year semi-finalist, and Aryna Sabalenka, title holder and third seed. Both were prematurely ousted. Badosa was defeated by a rejuvenated Simona Halep in the first round whereas Sabalenka lost in the second to Amanda Anisimova. Until Madrid Jabeur had only one title under her belt: Birmingham Classic 2021.
In her post-match press conference Ons said that the tournament this week in Rome is a great opportunity to move up even higher in the ranking and enter the top 5. She didn’t take part in the Italian Open last year and she could gain several points if she were to reach the final stages. It will also depend on the results of the players close to her: Kontaveit, Pliskova, Sabalenka.
TOP 50
| WTA Rank | +/- | Player | Tournaments Played | Points |
| 1 | 0 | Iga Swiatek | 17 | 7061 |
| 2 | +1 | Barbora Krejcikova | 19 | 5011 |
| 3 | -1 | Paula Badosa | 27 | 4720 |
| 4 | +1 | Maria Sakkari | 18 | 4596 |
| 5 | +1 | Anett Kontaveit | 21 | 4446 |
| 6 | +1 | Karolina Pliskova | 16 | 4152 |
| 7 | +3 | Ons Jabeur | 19 | 3895 |
| 8 | -4 | Aryna Sabalenka | 20 | 3721 |
| 9 | -1 | Danielle Collins | 18 | 3211 |
| 10 | -1 | Garbiñe Muguruza | 18 | 3135 |
| 11 | +3 | Jessica Pegula | 20 | 3040 |
| 12 | -1 | Emma Raducanu | 22 | 2914 |
| 13 | -1 | Jelena Ostapenko | 19 | 2725 |
| 14 | -1 | Belinda Bencic | 19 | 2466 |
| 15 | +1 | Coco Gauff | 19 | 2410 |
| 16 | +1 | Victoria Azarenka | 16 | 2336 |
| 17 | +1 | Elena Rybakina | 24 | 2316 |
| 18 | +2 | Leylah Fernandez | 24 | 2191 |
| 19 | 0 | Angelique Kerber | 15 | 2178 |
| 20 | -5 | Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova | 11 | 2092 |
| 21 | 0 | Simona Halep | 17 | 2067 |
| 22 | 0 | Madison Keys | 19 | 1958 |
| 23 | 0 | Daria Kasatkina | 22 | 1825 |
| 24 | 0 | Tamara Zidansek | 20 | 1712 |
| 25 | +1 | Liudmila Samsonova | 28 | 1682 |
| 26 | +1 | Sorana Cirstea | 23 | 1670 |
| 27 | + | Elina Svitolina | 21 | 1642 |
| 28 | -3 | Veronika Kudermetova | 22 | 1635 |
| 29 | +6 | Jil Teichmann | 23 | 1623 |
| 30 | +1 | Camila Giorgi | 21 | 1612 |
| 31 | +14 | Ekaterina Alexandrova | 22 | 1576 |
| 32 | +1 | Amanda Anisimova | 20 | 1525 |
| 33 | -5 | Elise Mertens | 21 | 1446 |
| 34 | -4 | Petra Kvitova | 21 | 1440 |
| 35 | -3 | Marketa Vondrousova | 20 | 1422 |
| 36 | +1 | Anhelina Kalinina | 33 | 1357 |
| 37 | +10 | Sara Sorribes Tormo | 23 | 1345 |
| 38 | -2 | Naomi Osaka | 11 | 1296 |
| 39 | -5 | Alizé Cornet | 24 | 1295 |
| 40 | +4 | Yulia Putintseva | 24 | 1231 |
| 41 | -3 | Ajla Tomljanovic | 23 | 1216 |
| 42 | -2 | Shuai Zhang | 36 | 1210 |
| 43 | -1 | Alison Riske | 25 | 1201 |
| 44 | -3 | Clara Tauson | 28 | 1199 |
| 45 | +6 | Katerina Siniakova | 20 | 1171 |
| 46 | +9 | Kaia Kanepi | 21 | 1150 |
| 47 | +11 | Petra Martic | 21 | 1143 |
| 48 | 0 | Shelby Rogers | 26 | 1134 |
| 49 | -6 | Sloane Stephens | 16 | 1128 |
| 50 | 0 | Aliaksandra Sasnovich | 21 | 1123 |
- In the top 10 Barbora Krejcikova overtakes Paula Badosa and is back at No.2. Aryna Sabalenka drops 4 positions and precipitates to No.8. Maria Sakkari (+1, No.4), Anett Kontaveit (+1, No.5) and Karolina Pliskova (+1, No.6), take advantage of such a setback. Pliskova has only won two matches so far in her troubled 2022. The title in Madrid chauffeurs Ons Jabeur to No. 7 (+3). Danielle Collins (No.9) and Muguruza (No.10) lost one position.
- In the top 20, Jessica Pegula (No.11) gains three positions and reaches her career best. The American is just 95 points away from tenth place, but next week will be dropping the points she earned with her quarter-final in Rome in 2021. Leylah Fernandez (No.17) moves up two positions while Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova loses 5 and falls to No. 20. In a few weeks the Russian will have to defend the final she reached in Paris at the French Open one year ago.
- With regard to positions from No.21 to No.50, Jil Teichmann (+6, No.29), Ekaterina Alexandrova (+14, No.31), Sara Sorribes Tormo (+10, No.37), Katerina Siniakova (+6, N.45), Kaia Kanepi (+9, No.45) and Petra Martic (+11, No.46) are definitely on the rise. Elise Mertens (-5, No.33), Petra Kvitova (-4, No.34), Alizé Cornet (-5, No.39) and Sloane Stephens (-6, No.49) slightly retreated.
Tereza Martincova (-4, No.53), Viktorija Golubic (-17, No.56) and Jasmine Paolini (-9, No.55) drop out of the top 50. The best movers in the top 100 are Beatriz Haddad Maia (+13, No.52), Marie Bouzkova (+9, No.68), Dayana Yastremska (+12, No.80), Bianca Andreescu (+21, No.90), Danka Kovinic (+23, No.91) and the young German Jule Niemeier (+16, No.94)
Camila Osorio (-5, No.55), Madison Brengle (-7, No.61), Karolina Muchova (-11, No.78) and Lauren Davis (-12, No.102) are struggling. Beyond the top 100, Jennifer Brady, a former No.13 who is currently off the tour due to a left-foot injury, loses 105 positions and is No.279. On the other side Taylor Townsend, back on tour after giving birth to baby boy Adyn Aubrey in March, wins the W100 Charleston ITF and succeeds in a +406 bound that lands her at No.333.
NEXT GEN RANKING
The first 9 positions of the ranking dedicated to players born after January 2002 are unchanged. The18-year-old German Nastasja Schunk, thanks to the 63 positions gained with her final in the W100 Wiesbaden ITF, enters the top 10.
| Position | +/- | Player | YOB | WTA Rank |
| 1 | 0 | Emma Raducanu | 2002 | 12 |
| 2 | 0 | Cori Gauff | 2004 | 15 |
| 0 | Leylah Fernandez | 2002 | 18 | |
| 4 | 0 | Clara Tauson | 2002 | 44 |
| 5 | 0 | Marta Kostyuk | 2002 | 59 |
| 6 | 0 | Qinwen Zheng | 2002 | 73 |
| 7 | 0 | Diane Parry | 2002 | 96 |
| 8 | 0 | Daria Snigur | 2002 | 143 |
| 9 | 0 | Elina Avanesyan | 2002 | 146 |
| 10 | – | Natasja Schunk | 2003 | 165 |
RACE
Huge surge for the two finalists of the WTA 1000 Mutua Madrid Open. Ons Jabeur soars to No.2, a 10-position leap. Jessica Pegula rises to No.4, gaining 7 places. Ekaterina Alexandrova (+18, No.18) enters the top 20, and Jil Teichmann, another achiever of the week, (+26, No.22) is just a step away.
| Position | +/- | Player | Tournaments Played | Pts |
| 1 | 0 | Iga Swiatek | 8 | 4390 |
| 2 | +10 | Ons Jabeur | 9 | 1925 |
| 3 | -1 | Paula Badosa | 10 | 1772 |
| 4 | +7 | Jessica Pegula | 9 | 1697 |
| 5 | -2 | Maria Sakkari | 8 | 1676 |
| 6 | -2 | Danielle Collins | 5 | 1581 |
| 7 | -2 | Anett Kontaveit | 8 | 1485 |
| 8 | -2 | Madison Keys | 9 | 1382 |
| 9 | +1 | Simona Halep | 7 | 1311 |
| 10 | -2 | Belinda Bencic | 8 | 1261 |
| 11 | -4 | Jelena Ostapenko | 8 | 1166 |
| 12 | -3 | Veronika Kudermetova | 9 | 1142 |
| 13 | +4 | Amanda Anisimova | 8 | 1026 |
| 14 | -1 | Naomi Osaka | 5 | 990 |
| 15 | +1 | Elena Rybakina | 10 | 942 |
| 16 | -2 | Barbora Krejcikova | 4 | 895 |
| 17 | -2 | Aryna Sabalenka | 10 | 877 |
| 18 | +18 | Ekaterina Alexandrova | 9 | 851 |
| 19 | 0 | Daria Kasatkina | 9 | 781 |
| 20 | -2 | Sorana Cirstea | 10 | 746 |
