The chase for the WTA Finals is heating up, and the race has taken an exciting turn. While the top two, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek, have long been dominant figures in the standings, a new wave of contenders is making their presence felt. This week, three American stars have added their names to the growing list of qualifiers, sending ripples through the women’s tour.

Good times for American tennis? This year, we’ve already seen two Americans lifting the major titles. Madison Keys did it at the AO earlier this year, while Coco Gauff stunned everyone by defeating Sabalenka in the final of the French Open in a three-set thriller. Other than these two, there have been several other Americans who have tasted title triumphs this year. Previously, while talking about the rise of American women’s tennis, Jessica Pegula said, “I just think that our depth is pretty incredible. I think it has been, though, honestly, for a few years now. I think we’re just seeing more Americans maybe in the top 10, obviously top 20, for sure. That’s definitely a big change.” Currently, there are four American women in the Top 10.

Seeing this, Keys also admitted, “I think that the U.S. women have pretty consistently done really well.” Even ATP star Taylor Fritz claimed that the women have been “carrying” American tennis for a very long time. Amid all the buzz surrounding the American women’s tennis stars, Coco Gauff (3), Amanda Anisimova (4), and Madison Keys (6) have secured their spots for the 2025 WTA Finals. The qualification of these three, along with Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek, means that there are only three spots available in the WTA Finals left to grab. Who’ll be the next one?

Time will tell! But Jessica Pegula looks to be a favorite to enter the list next. What a moment it would be yet again for ‌American tennis. Let’s take a look at the rankings and points achieved so far by these players in the Live WTA Race to Riyadh.

The WTA Finals qualification cut is 5203, and both Coco Gauff and Amanda Anisimova’s incredible runs at the 2025 China Open have earned them a spot in the list of qualifiers. Gauff defeated Eva Lys in the QF by 6-3,6-4, while Anisimova took down Jasmine Paolini in a three-set thriller in her QF match. Anisimova’s win means that the 2025 AO champion Madison Keys has also claimed her place in the list of qualifiers for the first time since 2016. Keys didn’t enter the China Open this year, and as a Grand Slam champion, she only needed to finish inside the Top 20 to secure her spot in the WTA Finals. Let’s now take a glimpse of their performances in this season.

After securing her spot in the WTA Finals, Anisimova said, “I think it was actually one of the only goals I made, so I’m super excited. And I’m excited to keep going here too. I really love playing in Beijing, so I’m excited for the semifinal.”

But for Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka, the presence of these three Americans introduces a new layer of intrigue. The battle for the WTA Finals is no longer just about the top two stars; it’s becoming a thrilling contest with multiple narratives, each match potentially reshaping the leaderboard. 

Talking about reshaping the leaderboard, well, Iga Swiatek’s recent shocking exit from the China Open probably has now brought in a major blow to her chase for the world number one spot in the WTA singles ranking.

Iga Swiatek shares her thoughts after facing surprising defeat at the hands of Emma Navarro

The WTA rankings race between Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka has all the makings of a thriller. The absence of Sabalenka from the China Open presented Swiatek with a big opportunity to reduce the gap between her and the world number one in the current rankings table. Right at the start of the China Open, Sabalenka had 11,225 points, i.e., 2,792 points clear of the Pole.

But due to his absence from the tournament, she lost 215 points, which she earned by reaching the QF in 2024. So, overall, her points got down to 11,010. On the other side, since Iga Swiatek didn’t take part in this tournament in the 2024 season, she was not defending any points this year. She would’ve moved up to 8,648 points if she reached the QF at the China Open. Moreover, her points could’ve also jumped to 9,433 if she had managed to clinch her title this year. This would’ve significantly reduced the gap with Sabalenka to just 1,577 points.

However, with her 4-6,6-4,0-6 defeat to Emma Navarro, she collected just 120 points, which has increased her total to 8,533 points in the Live WTA Rankings. She is now trailing Sabalenka by around 2,457 points. The loss to Navarro is therefore a major blow to her hopes of overtaking the Belarusian as the world number one. Both these players will next be seen in action at the Wuhan Open.

But before that, let’s take a look at what Iga Swiatek said after losing her R16 match to Emma Navarro. The Pole said, “I'm not injured. I just played bad today. I managed to, like, work on it in the second set. Then in third, probably the mistakes I did from the beginning of the match kind of came back. Yeah, like, I didn't really, I don't know, fix the shots that I played wrong or something. I kind of knew what I'm doing wrong. I don't know, I was stuck in doing it wrong rather than actually solving it.” She also added, “So yeah, for sure I was a bit more nervous because of that and maybe too much emotions, as well. I will try to, like, keep it more cool next time so I have more space in my head to problem solve.”

If we compare her stats with Aryna Sabalenka, Swiatek has played around 73 matches this season and won 59 out of them. The world number 2 has won three titles so far this season, while for Sabalenka it’s 56-10, along with 4 titles. Who in between these two do you think will end the season in a better way?

Written by

Sayantan Roy

Sayantan Roy is a seasoned tennis journalist at EssentiallySports. He brings a deep tactical understanding to his coverage, breaking down head-to-head records, match dynamics, and on-court strategies with precision. For more than two years, Sayantan has been a key member of the Live Events desk, delivering real-time insights and data-backed predictions for the platform’s Matchday Preview section. His analytical approach has sparked editorial debates and drawn recognition from respected tennis voices, including commentator and analyst Olly_Tennis. Combining his experience in writing with a passion for insightful sports journalism, Sayantan’s work serves as a trusted reference point for tennis fans around the world.

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Edited by

Shrabana Sengupta