While Jannik Sinner has the ATP No. 1 ranking locked in no matter what happens at the Australian Open this year, there are three women who can leave Melbourne with the WTA No. 1 ranking—the current Top 3 of Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff.
Here’s how each of them can clinch it:
Aryna Sabalenka
Though she has a hefty 1,536-point lead over Swiatek on the current WTA rankings (9,656 to 8,120), Sabalenka is defending 1,870 more points than Swiatek at the Australian Open. She earned 2,000 points for winning the title last year, while Swiatek only earned 130 for falling in the third round.
That means Sabalenka has a 334-point gap to make up, and so she needs to not only do better than Swiatek over the next two weeks, but in some cases a few rounds better.
Sabalenka needs to at least reach the quarterfinals to hang onto No. 1, period. If Swiatek reaches the third round, Sabalenka needs to reach the semifinals. If Swiatek reaches the semifinals, Sabalenka needs to reach the final. And if Swiatek reaches the final, Sabalenka needs to beat her in that final.
There’s also the Gauff factor, which we’ll cover below.
