ARYNA SABALENKA AND SWIATEK SUFFER RANKING SETBACK IN WTA CIRCUIT
Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, and other top-10 WTA stars face ranking point penalties for skipping mandatory tournaments. The fines come just weeks before the season-ending WTA Finals in Riyadh.
The WTA's end-of-season rankings are likely to penalise prominent figures in women's tennis, including Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
After winning the season's final Grand Slam, the US Open, at the start of last month, the Belarusian is still on track to finish the year at the top of the women's tennis rankings for the second year in a row.
Second in the rankings is Swiatek, who had a difficult start to the year but recovered to win SW19 this summer. American sensations Coco Gauff and Amanda Anisimova are right behind her in third and fourth place, respectively.
However, both athletes will be docked for breaking a regulation set down by their respective sport's governing body.
Madison Keys, the Australian Open champion and eighth-ranked player in the world, is also expected to lose points.
In addition, Anisimova and Gauff will be penalised before the WTA Finals in Riyadh next month.
Before the season ends, Aryna Sabalenka will lose ranking points from the WTA.
Iga Swiatek, a fellow celebrity, will also face consequences for violating an organisation's regulation.
Five of the top ten players have not participated in the six WTA 500 tournaments that the organisation requires.
After the Grand Slams, which are not organised by either the men's or women's tour, and the Masters, where a maximum of 1000 points can be earned, the 500 tournaments rank third in terms of prestige among ATP and WTA tennis competitions.
In exchange, players who miss required events are "zeroed out", which essentially means that any points they earned from tournaments they did participate in are penalised.
Only three 500 events were participated in by Sabalenka, Gauff, Anisimova, and Swiatek; Sabalenka and Swiatek each won one, the Korea Open and the Brisbane International, respectively.
None of the players chose to compete in last week's similarly rated Ningbo Open in an attempt to "make up" lost points, and Keys played four 500 events in 2025, just missing the cutoff.
Consequently, Swiatek will be fined 65 points, Keys 54 points, and Sabalenka, Gauff, and Anisimova 10 points each.
The player's rankings before the Saudi Arabian Finals, however, are probably unaffected by any of the deductions.
However, Swiatek lost points for competing in just two 500 events in 2024, while Sabalenka's world No. 1 ranking was taken away. The deductions came a year after comparable demerits made all the difference.
After missing six events, Amanda Anisimova and Coco Gauff will also be docked.
Since her unexpected first-round US Open exit, Madison Keys has chosen to take a long hiatus.
Sabalenka has been enjoying a vacation in Dubai before the WTA Finals in Riyadh.
As players plan their year, Swiatek has been candid about the pressures of the tour and the psychological effects of required events.
The former French Open champion criticised the WTA's attempt to make events mandatory as unwise in his most recent remarks, which were made during the China Open.
In Beijing, Swiatek stated, "I do not think any top player will genuinely be able to achieve this, for example, playing the six 500 events." "There is simply no way to fit it into the schedule."
However, I do believe that we need to be wise about it, not really care about the rules, and just consider what is best for us. Yes, it is difficult.
"Now that I have made the decision to participate in all of these required tournaments, the only thing I can do is to just take care of my body and recover."
Additionally, I have a strong team supporting me in that regard. I have enough experience to sort of know what to do. I am in good physical condition.
All five players are concentrating on getting ready for the WTA Finals by choosing not to compete in the season's final 500.
While Anisimova, Swiatek, and Gauff have taken similar breaks after winning in Wuhan, Sabalenka has established her training base in Dubai following a semi-final loss at the Wuhan Open. Sabalenka even spent some time relaxing at her hotel with her tennis "soulmate", Paula Badosa.
Since her humiliating first-round loss to Renata Zarazua at the US Open, Keys has been training in Florida.
WHY DID 22 PLAYERS SUDDENLY WITHDRAW FROM THE 2026 ITALIAN OPEN MID-TOURNAMENT?
Discover the full list of injured stars, including Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu, forced out of the 2026 Italian Open.
At the 2026 Italian Open, the number of players who have withdrawn or retired during matches has climbed to 22, spanning both the ATP and WTA competitions.
By midweek, 17 players had already exited the combined ATP/WTA 1000 event in Rome. Since then, an additional three men and two women have followed suit.
Before the draws were even announced on Monday, prominent names like Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz, Jack Draper, and Marketa Vondrousova had pulled out. On the opening day of the women’s tournament, Tuesday, Marta Kostyuk and Emma Raducanu also withdrew.
Amanda Anisimova, ranked sixth in the WTA, stepped back before her first match on Thursday due to a left wrist injury. Meanwhile, Victoria Mboko, who is ninth in the world, withdrew before playing on Friday because of a gastrointestinal illness.
Valentin Vacherot, the 16th-ranked player on the ATP tour, pulled out shortly before his scheduled second-round match against Marin Cilic on Friday, citing a foot injury.
Tomas Machac, holding the 41st spot in the men's rankings, also withdrew ahead of his second-round encounter with Daniil Medvedev after an impactful win against Stefanos Tsitsipas in round one.
Arthur Fils, ranked 17th, retired during his opening match against Andrea Pellegrino on Saturday, trailing 0-4, due to hip pain.
Here’s a rundown of the withdrawals on the ATP side: Carlos Alcaraz (No. 2) was replaced by Sebastian Ofner; Taylor Fritz (No. 7) by Zachary Svajda; Valentin Vacherot (No. 16) by Martin Landaluce; Arthur Rinderknech (No. 24) by Aleksandar Kovacevic; Holger Rune (No. 40) by Damir Dzumhur; Gabriel Diallo (No. 46) by Alexander Blockx; Jack Draper (No. 50) by Hamad Medjedovic; Raphael Collignon (No. 68) by Alexandre Muller; Reilly Opelka (No. 74) by Aleksandar Vukic; Arthur Cazaux (No. 73) by Mattia Bellucci; Kamil Majchrzak (No. 76) by Roberto Bautista Agut; and Eliot Spizzirri (No. 92) by James Duckworth.
On the WTA side, Amanda Anisimova (No. 6) was replaced by Elena Gabriela Ruse from Romania; Victoria Mboko (No. 9) by Nikola Bartunkova; Marta Kostyuk (No. 15) by Ajla Tomljanovic; Emma Raducanu (No. 30) by Lilli Tagger; Marketa Vondrousova (No. 44) by Solana Sierra; Sonay Kartal (No. 56) by Zeynep Sonmez; Varvara Gracheva (No. 61) by Eva Lys; and Veronika Kudermetova (No. 70) by Petra Marcinko.
THE "REST OVER REPS" PLAN: WHY JANNIK SINNER IS SNUBBING HALLE FOR WIMBLEDON
After 23 consecutive wins, World No. 1 Jannik Sinner adjusts his schedule to target a Career Grand Slam and Wimbledon glory.
Jannik Sinner has already logged a heavy schedule this year, with deep runs in recent Masters 1000 tournaments keeping him on court against top-tier competition regularly. Given this demanding stretch, he’s taken a fresh look at his calendar and decided to skip the Halle Open, carving out a three-week break between Roland Garros and his Wimbledon title defence.
The 2024 Wimbledon champion won’t be heading to Germany for the grass-court event. That’s notable since Sinner claimed that Wimbledon crown in impressive fashion, overcoming two-time winner Carlos Alcaraz to secure his first major title away from hardcourts. That victory was his latest Grand Slam, following Alcaraz’s wins at the previous two majors.
After Roland Garros, where he seeks to complete the career Grand Slam, Sinner plans to recharge rather than pile on more tournaments before Wimbledon. Without Alcaraz in sight, he’s considered a favourite to maintain his remarkable run. His recent haul includes titles at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, and, most recently, Madrid. Now, he’s setting his sights on Rome, his home turf, where he’s never clinched a win but is eager to continue an ambitious streak of Masters 1000 victories, aiming for a sixth in a row.
Post-Rome, he’ll take a week off before the French Open begins. In total, Sinner has played 23 matches over the last two months without tasting defeat. If he wants to lift the Rome trophy, he’ll need to notch six more wins, then potentially battle through seven more rounds in Paris. This demanding schedule partly explains his choice to forgo Halle.
As for the 2026 Halle Open, fans might be disappointed not to see the world number one, but the field remains strong. Heading the draw is Alexander Zverev, a local favourite who has yet to claim a grass-court title or even one on home soil. With Sinner out, this could be a prime opportunity for Zverev to break through.
The American players are also well represented. The U.S. hasn’t seen a finalist here since Mardy Fish in 2004, but Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton might be poised to change that, especially Fritz, who has already shown grass prowess with titles in Stuttgart and Eastbourne last year.
Defending champion Alexander Bublik, who ousted Sinner on his way to victory and took down Daniil Medvedev in the final, will be back aiming to repeat. Alongside him, names like Andrey Rublev, Flavio Cobolli, and Frances Tiafoe are also set to compete. The tournament runs from June 15 to 21, promising plenty of exciting tennis.
