2022 WTA Rankings Round-Up

The annual Backspin recapping season is upon us, with the ritualistic unveiling of the 2022 All-Rankings Team, along with a grab bag list of numbers and year-end standing rises and falls at the conclusion of a WTA campaign that truly was an ever-evolving organism.

In March, the WTA tour signed a deal for a new title sponsor. It was only the beginning of the change that was to come.

Exclusive: After more than a decade without a title sponsor, the WTA signs on with Hologic, a U.S.-based company focused on women's health

Deal comes at critical time for the WTA & its strong stance on Peng Shuai & China played a role

My latest for #NYThttps://t.co/M7zcuKHi95

— Christopher Clarey ???? ???? ???? (@christophclarey) March 3, 2022

Ash Barty, just weeks after winning the Australian Open, retired at age 25. She was immediately replaced at #1 by Iga Swiatek, who'd go on to have a dominant season that saw her win two major titles and post a series of accomplishments that routinely placed her name alongside (and sometimes atop) a series of only-one-name-necessary greats, from Steffi to Justine and Serena.

Early on, China was out, soon followed by Russia. The Hordettes continued to play, but not in Britain during the grass court season. Right on cue, a Russian-born Kazakh stepped into the Centre Court winner's circle at SW19 (even if her rankings points didn't reflect the feat).

After two years of Covid-rearranged schedules, this season saw similar juggling -- for various reasons -- and eleventh hour hosting announcements as (especially) the China/Asia-centered 4Q schedule was obliterated and re-built from the ground up. At the same time, the WTA Finals (somehow) wound up in Fort Worth, Texas (at least the eventual champion wore the cowboy hat well), while the Billie Jean King Cup finals popped up in Scotland.

While former slam champions and #1's disappeared from tour -- be it due to retirement, "retirement," pregnancy or (in the case of one Romanian) TBD -- at an alarming (if not surprising) rate, the tour's worldwide scope increased as the burgeoning "first player from (INSERT NATION HERE) to..." contingent continued to grow, and a whole new generation of winners stepped into the spotlight. And -- shocker! -- not *all* of them hail from the Czech Republic (even if most of them *seem* to).

And that's a continuing comfort that we can all embrace, right? I mean, who doesn't want more than a few scoops of Czechs with their tennis breakfast, lunch, dinner and midnight snacks?

At any rate, keep calm and serve on.

Introducing the 2022 "All-Rankings Team"...

Caroline Garcia, FRA: the new WTAF singles champ, Garcia won titles on three different surface and returned to the season-ending singles Top 10 for the first time since 2017, climbing 70 spots (the most of any Top 20 player) from #74 to #4. The Roland Garros doubles winner, she ended the year as the doubles #26, one of nine women to finish in the Top 30 in both disciplines.

Coco Gauff, USA: for four weeks the in-season doubles #1 (at 18, the second-youngest to top the rankings behind only Martina Hingis), Gauff finished in the Top 10 in both singles and doubles. She's the youngest season-ending singles Top 10er since 2007 (Nicole Vaidisova), the youngest from the U.S. since 1999 (Serena Williams) and just the fifth 18-and-under woman this century (Clijsters 2001, Dokic 2001, Sharapova 2004-05 and Vaidisova) to end a year there. She reached both the singles and doubles final at Roland Garros and won a pair 1000 WD crowns.

Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA: Haddad Maia became the first Brazilian to finish the year in the singles Top 20 (since the 1975 computer rankings), and finished '22 in the Top 15 there and in doubles, as well. She won back-to-back grass titles in Nottingham and Birmingham, and reached her biggest career final at the Toronto 1000 (upsetting #1 Iga Swiatek en route).

Veronika Kudermetova, RUS: Kudermetova somewhat quietly climbed into the Top 10 in both singles and doubles (and is one of three woman to end the season there), but ended '22 quite loudly by winning the WTAF doubles with Elise Mertens for her biggest career title and secured the season-ending doubles #2 ranking. Kudermetova climbed from #31 to #9 in singles and reached her first slam QF (RG), but went title-less on the year (going 0-3 in finals, winning just a combined 13 games).

Jessie Pegula, USA: the third woman to finish in the 2022 Top 10 in both singles and doubles, singles #3 Pegula won her biggest career singles crown (1000 Guadalajara, her first in three years), reached three slam QF and was SF+ in three more 1000 events. A RG doubles finalist with Gauff, Pegula reached the first six WTA WD finals of her career (winning 5 times).

Dasha Saville, AUS: if not for the season-ending knee injury that ended her comeback campaign (and will cost her most of '23), the Aussie's return from Achilles surgery would have been one consisting of *only* high points. After ending '21 at #419, and dropping as low as #627 in February, Saville nearly returned to the Top 50 (ending at #53) on the strength of a QF in Miami (at #249, she was the lowest-ranked ever), an Indian Wells Round of 16 and Roland Garros 3rd Round run.

Iga Swiatek, POL: well, of course. Swiatek finished 2021 at #9, and essentially inherited the #1 ranking (after having won Indian Wells) when Ash Barty retired in March. Before assuming the top spot, Iga completed the "Sunshine Double" by winning in Miami, too. She never relinquished the #1 ranking, and went on to put together a 37-match winning streak and win her second Roland Garros and first U.S. Open title. When the calendar flips over to 2023, Swiatek will begin a 40th straight week in the #1 ranking.

Marie Bouzkova, CZE: Bouzkova and her big water bottle finally had their breakout year. She climbed from #89 to #26, belatedly (in her fourth career final) winning her first tour title (Prague), reaching her biggest SF (Guadalajara 1000) and first slam QF (Wimbledon).

Alize Cornet, FRA: after expecting to retire sometime in '22, 36-year old Cornet instead had a remarkable season in which she finished at #36, her best ending ranking since 2014 (#20). Over the course of the season, the Pastry reached her first slam QF (in her 63rd slam MD, setting the record for perseverance) at Roland Garros, ended Iga Swiatek's 37-match win streak at Wimbledon (her fourth career #1 win) and broke the WTA mark for consecutive slam MD (63) at the U.S. Open. Her 11 major MD match wins in '22 were the most she's had in a single season in her slam career, which began in Paris in 2005.

Linda Fruhvirtova, CZE: the 17-year old (#78) is the youngest player in the Top 100, climbing all the way from #296, winning her maiden tour title (Chennai), reaching the Miami Round of 16 and posting her first slam MD win (US).

Tatjana Maria, GER: the 36-year old, after twice taking maternity leave (with daughters born in 2013 and '21), made '22 her career year, winning her first tour title in four years (Bogota) and putting on a magical Wimbledon run to reach her maiden slam SF (after having previously lost her last eight 1r matches in majors, and only once in 34 slam MD appearances going beyond the 2nd Rd.). Maria climbed from #279 at the end of '21 to a season-ending #68 (tied for the second-best of her career, behind #46 in '17).

Katerina Siniakova, CZE: the Czech, who won three WD majors alongside Barbora Krejcikova, finished 2022 in the #1 doubles ranking, her third such finish in the last five years. She also finished in the Top 50 (#47) in singles, picking up her first singles title (Portoroz) since 2017.

Martina Trevisan, ITA: the (now) 29-year old Italian's stunning clay ran in Rabat (W) and Roland Garros (SF) fueled a career year that saw her climb from #113 to #28. Her only previous Top 100 season was a #84 finish at the close of the interrupted 2020 season.

Zheng Qinwen, CHN: though she's still seeking her maiden tour title (she's the highest-ranked player still without a career win), Zheng's 118-spot climb from #143 to #25 over the course of the year was the biggest of any Top 50 player. The 20-year old won MD matches in her debut at all four majors (reaching the RG 4r), played in one tour final (Tokyo), won a 125 crown and recorded her first two Top 10 wins.

Ysaline Bonaventure, BEL: the 28-year old was the oldest player to make her Top 100 singles debut in '22, finishing at #96 (rising up from #228).

Brenda Fruhvirtova, CZE: the 15-year old (#139), little sister of Linda, is the youngest player in the Top 400. She won a circuit-best eight ITF challenger titles (in eight finals) on the year, taking her first at age 14 in February.

Alona Ostapenko, LAT: one of four players to end '22 in the Top 20 in both s/d. In a typical Ostapenk-ian flourish, the Latvian thundered to wins over four straight former slam champs (Kenin-Swiatek-Kvitova-Halep) en route to the Dubai title and added two additional ex-slam wins (Krejcikova, Muguruza) in her next five matches. She then lost five straight times, including back-to-back to Shelby Rogers. Because, naturally.

Linda Noskova, CZE: the 17-year old is the second-youngest player in the Top 100 (just a few months behind fellow Czech Linda Fruhvirtova). At Roland Garros, she was the youngest Czech to play a slam MD match since 2006, and the youngest overall to qualifiy in Paris since 2009. Her Prague SF was the youngest at the WTA level by a Czech since 2006. At the U.S. Open, she and countrywoman Lucie Hradecka defeated Venus & Serena Williams in doubles in Noskova's slam WD debut match.

Liudmila Samsonova, RUS: after a slow start, Samsonova's summer rush led to her maiden Top 20 finish, as she claimed three singles titles (Washington-Cleveland-Tokyo) in August/September.

Mayar Sherif, EGY: she became the first Egyptian to win a tour title (Parma) and crack the Top 50, though a mid-season injury break caused her to finish '22 at #63 before she'd *fully* returned to form.

Yuan Yue, CHN: the 24-year old came from virtually nowhere to become one of the season's biggest revelations, climbing 238 spots (second to Saville in the Top 100) from #312 to #74. Yuan reached the U.S. Open 3rd Round, as well as five $60K+ challenger finals (winning two).

*BACKSPIN ALL-RANKINGS TEAMS*
[2015]
Timea Bacsinszky, SUI (1st team)
Dasha Gavrilova, RUS/AUS (1st team)
Dasha Kasatkina, RUS (1st team)
Johanna Konta, GBR (1st team)
Garbine Muguruza, ESP (1st team)
Madison Brengle, USA
Margarita Gasparyan, RUS
Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
Alona Ostapenko, LAT
Teliana Pereira, BRA
Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, SVK


[2016]
Cagla Buyukakcay, TUR (1st team)
Dominika Cibulkova, SVK (1st team)
Vania King, USA (1st team)
Johanna Konta, GBR (1st team)
Naomi Osaka, JPN (1st team)
CiCi Bellis, USA
Kiki Bertens, NED
Viktorija Golubic, SUI
Dasha Kasatkina, RUS
Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
Anastasija Sevastova, LAT


[2017]
Ash Barty, AUS (1st team)
Caroline Garcia, FRA (1st team)
Martina Hingis, SUI (1st team)
Elise Mertens, BEL (1st team)
Alona Ostapenko, LAT (1st team)
Julia Goerges, GER
Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA
Aleksandra Krunic, SRB
Magdalena Rybarikova, SVK
Marketa Vondrousova, CZE


[2018]
Kiki Bertens, NED (1st team)
Simona Halep, ROU (1st team)
Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE (1st team)
Naomi Osaka, JPN (1st team)
Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (1st team)
Mihaela Buzarnescu, ROU
Danielle Collins, USA
Dasha Kasatkina, RUS
Angelique Kerber, GER
Petra Martic, CRO
Caroline Wozniacki, DEN


[2019]
Bianca Andreescu, CAN (1st team)
Ash Barty, AUS (1st team)
Coco Gauff, USA (1st team)
Sofia Kenin, USA (1st team)
Karolina Muchova, CZE (1st team)
Alison Riske, USA (1st team)
Kristie Ahn, USA
Amanda Anisimova, USA
Petra Martic, CRO
Elena Rybakina, KAZ
Marketa Vondrousova, CZE
Dayana Yastremska, UKR


[2020]
Victoria Azarenka, BLR (1st team)
Jennifer Brady, USA (1st team)
Leylah Fernandez, CAN (1st team)
Nadia Podoroska, ARG (1st team)
Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (1st team)
Iga Swiatek, POL (1st team)
Simona Halep, ROU
Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
Mayar Sherif, EGY
Laura Siegemund, GER
Martina Trevisan, ITA
Renata Zarazua, MEX


[2021]
Paula Badosa, ESP (1st team)
Ash Barty, AUS (1st team)
Leylah Fernandez, CAN (1st team)
Anett Kontaveit, EST (1st team)
Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (1st team)
Nuria Párrizas Díaz, ESP (1st team)
Emma Raducanu, GBR (1st team)
Coco Gauff, USA
Viktorija Golubic, SUI
Ons Jabeur, TUN
Ana Konjuh, CRO
Garbine Muguruza, ESP
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS
Maria Sakkari, GRE








All the lists that are fit to print (and some that likely aren't... but so be it)...

Year-end #WTA Top 10:

1. Iga Swiatek: 11085
2. Ons Jabeur: 5055
3. Jessica Pegula: 4691
4. Caroline Garcia: 4375
5. Aryna Sabalenka: 3925
6. Maria Sakkari: 3871
7. Coco Gauff: 3646
8. Daria Kasatkina: 3435
9. Veronika Kudermetova: 2795
10. Simona Halep: 2661 pic.twitter.com/j4XJo3G4Aw

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) November 8, 2022

[as of end-of-season singles ranks the week-of-Nov.7, 2022]

=2022 TOP 10=
[by age]
31 - Halep
29 - Garcia
28 - Jabeur, Pegula
27 - Sakkari
25 - Kasatkina, V.Kudermetova
24 - Sabalenka
21 - Swiatek
18 - Gauff
[career Top 10 seasons]
8 - Simona Halep (#10)
3 - Aryna Sabalenka (#5)
2 - Caroline Garcia (#4)
2 - Ons Jabeur (#2)
2 - Dasha Kasatkina (#8)
2 - Maria Sakkari (#6)
2 - Iga Swiatek (#1)
1 - Coco Gauff (#7)
1 - Veronika Kudermetova (#9)
1 - Jessie Pegula (#3)
[consecutive Top 10 seasons]
2 - Ons Jabeur
2 - Aryna Sabalenka
2 - Maria Sakkari
2 - Iga Swiatek
[career Top 5 seasons; *-2021 Top 5]
7 - Simona Halep
2 - Aryna Sabalenka*
1 - Caroline Garcia*
1 - Ons Jabeur*
1 - Jessie Pegula*
1 - Iga Swiatek*
0 - Gauff, Kasatkina, V.Kudermetova, Sakkari
[consecutive Top 5 seasons]
2 - Aryna Sabalenka
[new to Top 10 in 2022]
#3 Jessie Pegula (first-timer)
#7 Coco Gauff (first-timer)
#9 Veronika Kudermetova (first-timer)
[dropped out of Top 10 from 2021]
Ash Barty (#1 - retired)
Paula Badosa (#8 to #13)
Anett Kontaveit (#7 to #17)
Barbora Krejcikova (#5 to #21)
Garbine Muguruza (#3 to #55)
Karolina Pliskova (#4 to #32)
[Top 10 returnees, by season]
2010: 7
2011: 4
2012: 7
2013: 9
2014: 7
2015: 6
2016: 5
2017: 4
2018: 4
2019: 6
2020: 8
2021: 3
2022: 4

=2022 TOP 20 BY NATION=
4...RUS (#8 Kasatkina, #9 V.Kudermetova, #19 Alexandrova, #20 Samsonova)
4...USA (#3 Pegula, #7 Gauff, #11 Keys, #14 Collins)
1...BLR (#5 Sabalenka)
1...BRA (#15 Haddad Maia)
1...CZE (#16 Kvitova)
1...ESP (#13 Badosa)
1...EST (#17 Kontaveit)
1...FRA (#4 Garcia)
1...GRE (#6 Sakkari)
1...LAT (#18 Ostapenko)
1...POL (#1 Swiatek)
1...ROU (#10 Halep)
1...SUI (#12 Bencic)
1...TUN (#2 Jabeur)
[Top 20 by age]
32 - Kvitova
31 - Halep
29 - Garcia
28 - Collins, Jabeur, Pegula
27 - Alexandrova, Keys, Sakkari
26 - Haddad Maia, Kontaveit
25 - Bencic, Kasatkina, V.Kudermetova, Ostapenko
24 - Badosa, Sabalenka
23 - Samsonova
21 - Swiatek
18 - Gauff

=TOP 50 NATIONS=
2013: 23
2014: 23
2015: 20
2016: 25
2017: 21
2018: 25
2019: 27
2020: 25
2021: 23
2022: 22
[Top 50 players without career WTA singles titles]
#25 Zheng Qinwen, CHN (0-1 finals)
#31 Aliaksandra Sasnovich, BLR (0-4)
#33 Ajla Tomljanovic, AUS (0-4)
#46 Shelby Rogers, AUS (0-3)
#50 Wang Xiyu, CHN (only Top 50 w/ no career WTA final)
[Top 32 players without slam SF; w/ slam best]
#3 Jessie Pegula, USA (QF)
#9 Veronika Kudermetova, RUS (QF)
#13 Paula Badosa, ESP (QF)
#15 Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA (2nd Rd.)
#17 Anett Kontaveit, EST (QF)
#19 Ekaterina Alexandrova, RUS (3rd Rd.)
#20 Liudmila Samsonova, RUS (4th Rd.)
#24 Zhang Shuai, CHN (QF)
#25 Zheng Qinwen, CHN (4th Rd.)
#26 Marie Bouzkova, CZE (QF)
#30 Kaia Kanepi, EST (QF)
#31 Aliaksandra Sasnovich, BLR (4th Rd.)

=HIGHEST-RANKED PLAYER WITHOUT A CAREER WTA SINGLES TITLE=
2010 Dominika Cibulkova, SVK - won first title in 2011
2011 Peng Shuai, CHN - 2016
2012 Varvara Lepchenko, USA
2013 Sloane Stephens, USA - 2015
2014 Peng Shuai, CHN - 2016
2015 Kristina Mladenovic, FRA - 2017
2016 Dasha Gavrilova, AUS - 2017
2017 Wang Qiang, CHN - 2018
2018 Aliaksandra Sasnovich, BLR
2019 Danielle Collins, USA - 2021
2020 Ons Jabeur, TUN - 2021
2021 Shelby Rogers, USA
2022 Zheng Qinwen, CHN

===============================================

=TOP 100 NATIONS=
2011: 37
2012: 36
2013: 36
2014: 34
2015: 33
2016: 33
2017: 34
2018: 34
2019: 33
2020: 32
2021: 35
2022: 33
[2022 Top 100 by Nation; w/ # in 2021]
13 - United States (16)
9 - Czech Republic (8)
9 - Russia (8)
7 - China (3)
5 - Italy (2)
4 - Belgium (4)
4 - Romania (5)
4 - Spain (4)
3 - Belarus (3)
3 - Canada (2)
3 - France (4)
3 - Germany (2)
3 - Hungary (1)
3 - Switzerland (3)
2 - Australia (3)
2 - Croatia (3)
2 - Estonia (2)
2 - Great Britain (2)
2 - Kazakhstan (3)
2 - Poland (2)
2 - Slovenia (2)
2 - Ukraine (4)
1 - Austria (0)
1 - Brazil (1)
1 - Bulgaria (0)
1 - Colombia (1)
1 - Egypt (1)
1 - Greece (1)
1 - Japan (1)
1 - Latvia (2)
1 - Montenegro (1)
1 - Slovakia (1)
1 - Tunisia (1)
--
2021 TOP 100, NONE in 2022: Argentina (1), Denmark (1), Netherlands (1), Sweden (1)
[2022 Top 100 Age Breakdown]
4 - Teens (2021: 6)
76 - 20-29 (75)
20 - 30-39 (18)
0 - 40-49 (1)

=PLAYERS RISING INTO SEASON-ENDING TOP 100=
2022 newbies: 27 (since final '21 season rankings - November 15, 2021)
2021 newbies: 25
2020 newbies: 13
2019 newbies: 25
2018 newbies: 26
2017 newbies: 27
2016 newbies: 27
2015 newbies: 29
2014 newbies: 24
2013 newbies: 27
2012 newbies: 29
2011 newbies: 31
2010 newbies: 23
2009 newbies: 28
2008 newbies: 34
2007 newbies: 33
[2022 Top 100 Risers; * - first career Top 100 season (17)]
#25 Zheng Qinwen, CHN*
#28 Martina Trevisan, ITA
#48 Ana Bogdan, ROU
#50 Wang Xiyu, CHN*
#53 Dasha Saville, AUS
#56 Lucia Bronzetti, ITA*
#58 Anna Kalinskaya, RUS
#61 Jule Niemeier, GER*
#62 Zhu Lin, CHN
#64 Rebecca Marino, CAN
#65 Elisabetta Cocciaretto, ITA*
#68 Tatjana Maria, GER
#74 Yuan Yue, CHN*
#76 Diane Parry, FRA*
#78 Linda Fruhvirtova, CZE*
#80 Anna Blinkova, RUS
#83 Panna Udvardy, HUN
#84 Julia Grabher, AUT*
#85 Dalma Galfi, HUN*
#89 Tamara Korpatsch, GER*
#90 Viktoriya Tomova, BUL*
#91 Linda Noskova, CZE*
#92 Wang Qiang, CHN
#93 Kamilla Rakhimova, RUS*
#94 Caty McNally, USA*
#96 Ysaline Bonaventure, BEL*
#98 Harriet Dart, GBR*
[smallest 2021-to-2022 rankings changes in Top 100]
0...Maria Sakkari (#6 to #6)
0...Victoria Azarenka (#27 to #27)
0...Sorana Cirstea (#38 to #38)
0...Anhelina Kalinina (#52 to #52)
0...Maryna Zanevska (#81 to #81)
+1...Bianca Andreescu (#46 to #45)
+1...Madison Brengle (#58 to #57)
+2...Jil Teichmann (#37 to #35)
+2...Katerina Siniakova (#49 to #47)
-2...Mayar Sherif (#61 to #63)
-2...Donna Vekic (#67 to #69)
+2...Lauren Davis (#88 to #86)
+2...Wang Xinyu (#99 to #97)

===============================================

*RECENT #11 FINISHES*
2010: Li Na, CHN
2011: Francesca Schiavone, ITA
2012: Marion Bartoli, FRA
2013: Simona Halep, ROU
2014: Dominika Cibulkova, SVK
2015: Karolina Pliskova, CZE
2016: Petra Kvitova, CZE
2017: Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
2018: Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
2019: Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
2020: Serena Williams, USA
2021: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS
2022: Madison Keys, USA
*RECENT #21 FINISHES*
2010: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS
2011: Julia Goerges, GER
2012: Varvara Lepchenko, USA
2013: Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2014: Garbine Muguruza, ESP
2015: Jelena Jankovic, SRB
2016: Samantha Stosur, AUS
2017: Angelique Kerber, GER
2018: Anett Kontaveit, EST
2019: Karolina Muchova, CZE
2020: Marketa Vondrousova, CZE
2021: Elise Mertens, BEL
2022: Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
*RECENT #51 FINISHES*
2010: Timea Bacsinszky, SUI
2011: LUcie Hradecka, CZE
2012: Anna Tatishvili, GEO
2013: Zhang Shuai, CHN
2014: Magdalena Rybarikova, SVK
2015: Karin Knapp, ITA
2016: Johanna Larsson, SWE
2017: Carina Witthoeft, GER
2018: Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2019: Ajla Tomljanovic, AUS
2020: Marie Bouzkova, CZE
2021: Alison Riske, USA
2022: Yulia Putintseva, KAZ
*RECENT #101 FINISHES*
2010: Rebecca Marino, CAN
2011: Stephanie Foretz-Gacon, FRA
2012: Stephanie Foretz-Gacon, FRA
2013: Mariana Duque Marino, COL
2014: Aleksandra Krunic, SRB
2015: Kiki Bertens, NED
2016: Donna Vekic, CRO
2017: Kurumi Nara, JPN
2018: Heather Watson, GBR
2019: Kaia Kanepi, EST
2020: Kaia Kanepi, EST
2021: Oceane Dodin, FRA
2022: Aleksandra Krunic, SRB

===============================================

=TEENS IN THE TOP 100=
2014: 5
2015: 5
2016: 6
2017: 4
2018: 5
2019: 6
2020: 6
2021: 6
2022: 4

=YOUNGEST IN...=
Top 10: #7 Coco Gauff, USA (18)
Top 20: Gauff
Top 50: Gauff
Top 100: #78 Linda Fruhvirtova, CZE (17)
Top 200: #139 Brenda Fruhvirtova, CZE (15)
Top 300: B.Fruhvirtova
Top 400: B.Fruhvirtova
Top 500: #405 Mirra Andreeva, RUS (15)
Top 600: M.Andreeva
Top 700: M.Andreeva
Top 800: #705 Lya Fernandez, MEX (15)
Top 900: L.Fernandez
Top 1000: #881 Renata Jamichova, SVK (15)

*YOUNGEST PLAYER - end of '22 season*
[Top 100]
17...Linda Fruhvirtova, CZE (born May 1, 2005)
17...Linda Noskova, CZE (born November 17, 2004)
18...Coco Gauff, USA (born March 13, 2004)
19...Emma Raducanu, GBR (born November 13, 2002)
20...Zheng Qinwen, CHN (born October 8, 2002)
20...Camila Osorio, COL (born December 22, 2001)
20...Caty McNally, USA (born November 20, 2001)
20...Leylah Fernandez, CAN (born September 6, 2002)
20...Diane Parry, FRA (born September 1, 2002)
20...Marta Kostyuk, UKR (born June 28, 2002)
[#101-200]
15...Brenda Fruhvirtova, CZE (born April 2, 2007)
16...Sara Bejlek, CZE (born January 31, 2006)
16...Petra Marcinko, CRO (born December 4, 2005)
17...Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva, AND (born August 9, 2005)
18...Erika Andreeva, RUS (born June 24, 2004)
18...Katrina Scott, USA (born June 11, 2004)
18...Ashlyn Krueger, USA (born May 7, 2004)
18...Diana Shnaider, RUS (born April 2, 2004)
19...Oksana Selekhmeteva, RUS (born January 13, 2003)
19...Clara Tauson, DEN (born December 21, 2002)

=OLDEST IN...=
Top 10: #10 Simona Halep, ROU (31)
Top 20: #16 Petra Kvitova, CZE (32)
Top 50: #30 Kaia Kanepi, ESP (37)
Top 100: Kanepi
Top 200: Kanepi
Top 300: #273 Vera Zvonareva, RUS (38)
Top 400: Zvonareva
Top 500: Zvonareva
Top 600: #539 Samantha Stosur, AUS (38)
Top 700: #713 Junri Namigata, JPN (40)
Top 800: Namigata
Top 900: Namigata
Top 1000: #1010 Venus Williams, USA (42)
Top 1100: V.Williams
Top 1200: V.Williams
Top 1300: #1275 Sylvia Schenck, USA (58)

*OLDEST PLAYER - end of '22 season*
[Top 100]
37...Kaia Kanepi, EST (born June 10, 1985)
35...Tatjana Maria, GER (born August 8, 1987)
33...Zhang Shuai, CHN (born January 21, 1989)
33...Victoria Azarenka, BLR (born July 31, 1989)
32...Alize Cornet, FRA (born January 22, 1990)
32...Petra Kvitova, CZE (born March 8, 1990)
32...Madison Brengle, USA (born April 3, 1990)
32...Sorana Cirstea, ROU (born April 7, 1990
32...Alison Riske-Amritraj, USA (born July 3, 1990)
32...Irina-Camelia Begu, ROU (born August 26, 1990)
[#101-200]
35...Sara Errani, ITA (born April 29, 1987)
35...Andrea Petkovic, GER (born September 9, 1987)
34...Angelique Kerber, GER (born January 18, 1988)
34...Laura Siegemund, GER (born March 4, 1988)
33...Lesia Tsurenko, UKR (born May 30, 1989)
32...Kristina Kucova, SVK (born May 23, 1990)
32...Alexandra Cadantu-Ignatik, ROU (born May 30, 1990)
32...Vitalia Diatchenko, RUS (born August 2, 1990>

===============================================

Sometimes up is down, and down is up. As always, the Tennis Gods like to mess with people...

Elena Rybakina (#14 to #22): Rybakina and the Tennis Gods have history. Last year, she went *up* in the rankings despite reaching zero finals, a season after she'd reached five. This year, the Kazakh won her maiden slam crown at Wimbledon, but since she was awarded no rankings points the result was that her season-ending ranking *fell* 8 spots.

Mayar Sherif (#61 to #63): Sherif has worn out the "first Egyptian player to..." line the last few seasons. Even while missing time due to injury, 2022 was no different. This year, Sherif won her maiden tour singles title in Parma (after reaching her first final in '21) *and* a pair of 125 titles (she claimed one last year) and became the first Egyptian to crack the Top 50 in singles. But with the season officially ending in the first week of November, she was actually two spots *lower* in the rankings than in 2021. Of course, there are *still* several WTA 125 challenger events to be played, and Sherif's remaining performances will likely have her in better standing come the start of the '23 campaign.

And sometimes a player gets the chance to mess with the Tennis Gods...

Maria Sakkari (#6 to #6): in 2021, Sakkari reached a pair of slam semifinals. This year, the Greek Spartan only had one slam Round of 16 result. Ah, but Sakkari did her work "underground." After reaching just one final in '21, she played in four (two 1000) in '22 (though she didn't win *any* in either season), and matched her WTAF semifinal. As it turned out, even with her mid-year dip, she remained #6 in the season-ending standings. So maybe it's a "draw"... but the tie goes to the player.

Petra Kvitova (#17 to #16): On the surface, Petra seemed to have a tough year in '22. But she almost sneakily held her own, reaching her biggest final in three years (Cincinnati 1000) and winning her first grass crown (Eastbourne) since '18. She needed the runs to maintain her Top 20 ranking, too. Without those two events, the Czech would have been 17-18 on the year. It was enough the gently tick her season-ending ranking up one spot from a year ago.

===============================================







*REGIONAL RANKINGS* ==EASTERN EUROPE (non-RUS/Baltics)==
#5 Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
#10 Simona Halep, ROU
#27 Victoria Azarenka, BLR
#31 Aliaksandra Sasnovich, BLR
#34 Irina-Camelia Begu, ROU
#38 Sorana Cirstea, ROU
#48 Ana Bogdan, ROU
#52 Anhelina Kalinina, UKR
#70 Marta Kostyuk, UKR
#102 Dayana Yastremska, UKR
#104 Gabriela Ruse, ROU
#106 Daria Snigur, UKR
[RUSSIA]
#8 Dasha Kasatkina
#9 Veronika Kudermetova
#19 Ekaterina Alexandrova
#20 Liudmila Samsonova
#43 Anastasia Potapova
#58 Anna Kalinskaya
#80 Anna Blinkova
#93 Kamilla Rakhimova
#95 Varvara Gracheva
#113 Vitalia Diatchenko
[BALTIC REGION]
#17 Anett Kontaveit, EST
#18 Alona Ostapenko, LAT
#30 Kaia Kanepi, EST
#254 Darja Semenistaja, LAT
#264 Justina Mikulskyte, LTU
#266 Daniela Vismane, LAT
#300 Diana Marcinkevica, LAT
#380 Elena Malygina, EST

==WESTERN & CENTRAL EUROPE (non-RUS/Caucasus/Mediterranean/Scandinavia)==
#1 Iga Swiatek, POL
#4 Caroline Garcia, FRA
#12 Belinda Bencic, SUI
#13 Paula Badosa, ESP
#16 Petra Kvitova, CZE
#21 Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
#26 Marie Bouzkova, CZE
#28 Martina Trevisan, ITA
#29 Elise Mertens, BEL
#32 Karolina Pliskova, CZE
#35 Jil Teichmann, SUI
#36 Alize Cornet, FRA
#39 Petra Martic, CRO
#47 Katerina Siniakova, CZE
#49 Magda Linette, POL
[SCANDINAVIA]
#128 Clara Tauson, DEN
#144 Rebecca Peterson, SWE
#153 Mirjam Bjorklund, SWE
#257 Anastasia Kulikova, FIN
#272 Sofia Samavati, DEN
#284 Caijsa Hennemann, SWE
#375 Ulrikke Eikeri, NOR
#381 Olga Helmi, DEN
#394 Malene Helgo, NOR

[AFRICA, MIDDLE EAST, CAUCASUS & MEDITERRANEAN]
#2 Ons Jabeur, TUN
#6 Maria Sakkari, GRE
#63 Mayar Sherif, EGY
#156 Despina Papamichail, GRE
#168 Ekaterine Gorgodze, GEO
#200 Valentini Grammatikopoulou, GRE
#210 Ipek Oz, TUR
#216 Raluca Serban, CYP
#262 Sada Nahimana, BDI
#278 Pemra Ozgen, TUR
#293 Lina Glushko, ISR
#305 Sapfo Sakellaridi, GRE

==ASIA/PACIFIC==
#22 Elena Rybakina, KAZ
#24 Zhang Shuai, CHN
#25 Zheng Qinwen, CHN
#33 Ajla Tomljanovic, AUS
#42 Naomi Osaka, JPN
#50 Wang Xiyu, CHN
#51 Yulia Putintseva, KAZ
#53 Dasha Saville, AUS
#62 Zhu Lin, CHN
#74 Yuan Yue, CHN
#92 Wang Qiang, CHN
#97 Wang Xinyu, CHN
[NOTE: #820 Peng Shuai, CHN]

==SOUTH AMERICA==
#15 Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA
#82 Camila Osorio, COL
#114 Laura Pigossi, BRA
#161 Maria Carle, ARG
#184 Paula Ormaechea, ARG
#199 Carolina Alves, BRA
#204 Nadia Podoroska, ARG
#245 Barbara Gatica, CHI
#252 Gabriela Ce, BRA
#262 Julia Riera, ARG
(CENTRAL AMERICA: #725 Maria Rivera Corado, GUA)

==NORTH AMERICA/ATLANTIC==
[UNITED STATES]
#3 Jessie Pegula, USA
#7 Coco Gauff, USA
#11 Madison Keys, USA
#14 Danielle Collins, USA
#23 Amanda Anisimova, USA
#37 Sloane Stephens, USA
#41 Alison Riske-Amritraj, USA
#44 Bernarda Pera, USA
#46 Shelby Rogers, USA
#57 Madison Brengle, USA
#60 Claire Liu, USA
#86 Lauren Davis, USA
#94 Caty McNally, USA
[CANADA/MEXICO]
#40 Leylah Fernandez, CAN
#45 Bianca Andreescu, CAN
#64 Rebecca Marino, CAN
#163 Carol Zhao, CAN
#160 Fernanda Contreras Gomez, MEX
#196 Marcela Zacarias, MEX
#222 Katherine Sebov, CAN
#323 Genie Bouchard, CAN
#341 Ana Sofia Sanchez, MEX
#350 Renata Zarazua, MEX






*BIGGEST RISES IN THE RANKINGS*
=end of '21 to end of '22 season=
[in 2022 Top 25]
+118...Zheng Qinwen (#143 to #25)
+70...Caroline Garcia (#74 to #4)
+67...Beatriz Haddad Maia (#82 to #15)
+55...Amanda Anisimova (#78 to #23)
+45...Madison Keys (#56 to #11)
+39...Zhang Shuai (#63 to #24)
+22...Veronika Kudermetova (#31 to #9)
+19...Liudmila Samsonova (#39 to #20)
+18...Dasha Kasatkina (#26 to #8)
+15...Jessie Pegula (#18 to #3)
+15...Coco Gauff (#22 to #7)
+15...Danielle Collins (#29 to #14)
[2022 Top 26-50]
+85...Martina Trevisan (#113 to #28)
+78...Wang Xiyu (#128 to #50)
+64...Ana Bogdan (#112 to #48)
+63...Marie Bouzkova (#89 to #26)
+60...Aliaksandra Sasnovich (#91 to #31)
+49...Bernarda Pera (#93 to #44)
+42...Kaia Kanepi (#72 to #30)
+27...Sloane Stephens (#64 to #37)
+26...Irina-Camelia Begu (#60 to #34)
+26...Anastasia Potapova (#69 to #43)
+23...Alize Cornet (#59 to #36)
[2022 Top 51-100]
+366...Dasha Saville (#419 to #53)
+238...Yuan Yue (#312 to #74)
+226...Linda Noskova (#317 to #91)
+218...Linda Fruhvirtova (#296 to #78)
+211...Tatjana Maria (#279 to #68)
+132...Ysaline Bonaventure (#228 to #96)
+108...Julia Grabher (#192 to #84)
+91...Elisabetta Cocciaretto (#156 to #65)
+89...Lucia Bronzetti (#145 to #56)
+87...Tamara Korpatsch (#176 to #89)
+80...Rebecca Marino (#144 to #67)


*BIGGEST FALLS IN THE RANKINGS*
=end of '19 to end of '20 season=
[2021 Top 25]
retired - #1 Ash Barty (NR)
DNP - #25 Jennifer Brady (NR)
-356...Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (#11 to #367)
-223...Sofia Kenin (#12 to #235)
-221...Elina Svitolina (#15 to #236)
-87...Angelique Kerber (#16 to #103)
-56...Emma Raducanu (#19 to #75)
-52...Garbine Muguruza (#3 to #55)
-29...Naomi Osaka (#13 to #42)
-28...Karolina Pliskova (#4 to #32)
[2021 Top 26-50]
retired - #41 Serena Williams (NR)
-117...Karolina Muchova (#32 to #149)
-93...Ann Li (#47 to #140)
-84...Clara Tauson (#44 to #128)
-64...Marketa Vondrousova (#35 to #99)
-57...Tamara Zidansek (#30 to #87)
-34...Viktorija Golubic (#43 to #77)
-30...Sara Sorribes Tormo (#36 to #66)
[2021 Top 51-100]
DNP - #80 Zheng Saisai (NR)
-942...Zarina Diyas (#100 to #1042)
-607...Anastasija Sevastova (#70 to #677)
-186...Vera Zvonareva (#87 to #273)
-135...Astra Sharma (#96 to #231)
-127...Greet Minnen (#75 to #202)
-121...Nadia Podoroska (#83 to #204)
-77...Jaqueline Cristian (#71 to #148)
-70...Ana Konjuh (#66 to #136)
-65...Andrea Petkovic (#76 to #141)
-58...Clara Burel (#77 to #135)
-58...Rebecca Peterson (#86 to #144)
-55...Arantxa Rus (#62 to #117)
-40...Heather Watson (#73 to #133)

===============================================

[as of end-of-season doubles ranks the week-of-Nov.7, 2022]

*DOUBLES TOP 100*
(w/ # in 2021)
17...United States (15)
11...Russia (8)
7...Czech Republic (8)
6...Japan (5)
4...Belgium (4)
4...China (4)
3...France (2)
3...Georgia (2)
3...Great Britain (0)
3...Hungary (1)
3...Poland (3)
3...Ukraine (4)
2...Australia (4)
2...Belarus (3)
2...Brazil (1)
2...Canada (3)
2...Germany (4)
2...Romania (6)
2...Slovenia (1)
2...Slovakia (1)
2...Spain (1)
1...Chile (1)
1...India (1)
1...Indonesia (0)
1...Kazakhstan (2)
1...Latvia (1)
1...Netherlands (4)
1...Mexico (1)
1...New Zealand (1)
1...Norway (1)
1...Serbia (2)
1...South Korea (1)
1...Sweden (1)
1...Switzerland (1)
1...Taiwan (3)
1...Venezuela (1)
--
2021 TOP 100, NONE in 2022: Argentina (1), Croatia (2)
2020 NATIONS: 30
2021 NATIONS: 32
2022 NATIONS: 36

*DOUBLES TOP 20*
[by nation]
4...USA (#4 Gauff, #6 Pegula, #16 Krawczyk, #19 Melichar-Martinez)
2...AUS (#10 Sanders, #20 Perez)
2...CHN (#12 Yang, #15 Xu
2...CZE (#1 Siniakova, #3 Krejcikova
1...BEL (#5 Mertens)
1...BRA (#13 Haddad Maia)
1...CAN (#7 Dabrowski)
1...FRA (#18 Mladenovic)
1...KAZ (#11 Danilina)
1...LAT (#14 Ostapenko)
1...MEX (#8 Olmos)
1...NED (#17 Schuurs)
1...RUS (#2 V.Kudermetova)
1...UKR (#9 L.Kichenok)
[ages]
34 - Xu Yifan
30 - Gaby Dabrowski
29 - Nicole Melichar-Martinez, Kristina Mladenovic, Giuliana Olmos, Demi Schuurs
28 - Jessie Pegula, Storm Sanders, Desirae Krawczyk
27 - Anna Danilina, Ellen Perez, Yang Zhaoxuan
26 - Beatriz Haddad Maia, Barbora Krejcikova, Elise Mertens, Katerina Siniakova
25 - Veronika Kudermetova, Alona Ostapenko
18 - Coco Gauff

*DOUBLES TOP 100*
[youngest]
18 - #4 Coco Gauff, USA
20 - #21 Caty McNally, USA
20 - #46 Marta Kostyuk, UKR
20 - #76 Leylah Fernandez, CAN
20 - #98 Anastasia Zakharova, RUS
21 - #41 Anastasia Potapova, RUS
21 - #68 Alycia Parks, USA
21 - #96 Kamilla Rakhimova, RUS
[oldest]
38 - #31 Vera Zvonareva, RUS
37 - #29 Lucie Hradecka, CZE
36 - #30 Kirsten Flipkens, BEL
36 - #34 Alicja Rosolska, POL
36 - #36 Andreja Klepac, SLO
35 - #24 Sania Mirza, IND
35 - #47 Monica Niculescu, ROU
34 - #15 Xu Yifan, CHN
34 - #23 Shuko Aoyama, JPN
34 - #27 Laura Siegemun, GER
34 - #94 Samantha Murray Sharan, GBR

*SINGLES & DOUBLES*
(singles/doubles ranks)
=TOP 10 IN BOTH (3)=
Jessie Pegula, USA (#3 singles, #6 doubles)
Coco Gauff, USA (#7 singles, #4 doubles)
Veronika Kudermetova, RUS (#9 singles, #2 doubles)
=TOP 20 IN BOTH (+2)=
Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA (#15 singles, #13 doubles)
Alona Ostapenko, LAT (#18 singles, #14 doubles)
=TOP 50 IN BOTH (+7)=
Caroline Garcia, FRA (#4 singles, #26 doubles)
Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (#21 singles, #3 doubles)
Zhang Shuai, CHN (#24 singles, #25 doubles)
Elise Mertens, BEL (#29 singles, #5 doubles)
Anastasia Potapova, RUS (#43 singles, #41 doubles)
Katerina Siniakova, CZE (#47 singles, #1 doubles)
Magda Linette, POL (#49 singles, #45 doubles)

*NATIONS WITH TOP 100 DOUBLES PLAYER, BUT NONE IN SINGLES*
CHILE (1): #42 Alexa Guarachi
GEORGIA (3): #62 Natela Dzalamidze, #72 Oksana Kalashnikova, #80 Ekaterine Gorgodze
INDIA (1): #24 Sania Mirza
INDONESIA (1): #51 Aldila Sutjiadi
MEXICO (1): #8 Giuliana Olmos
NETHERLANDS (1): #17 Demi Schuurs
NEW ZEALAND (1): #32 Erin Routliffe
NORWAY (1): #43 Ulrikke Eikeri
SOUTH KOREA (1): #95 Han Na-lae
SWEDEN (1): #88 Rebecca Peterson
TAIWAN (1): #40 Chan Hao-ching
VENEZUELA (1): #87 Andrea Gamiz
[high-ranking singles player]
CHILE: #245 Barbara Gatica
GEORGIA: #168 Ekaterine Gorgodze
INDIA: #225 Karman Thandi
INDONESIA: #512 Priska Nugroho
MEXICO: #160 Fernanda Contreras
NETHERLANDS: #117 Arantxa Rus
NEW ZEALAND: #862 Paige Mary Hourigan
NORWAY: #375 Ulrikke Eikeri
SOUTH KOREA: #115 Jang Su-jeong
SWEDEN: #144 Rebecca Peterson
TAIWAN: #248 Joanna Garland
VENEZUELA: #365 Andrea Gamiz



So... whew!

via GIPHY

All for now.