The string of upsets that shook the women's singles event of the Australian Open 2020 continues to be the subject of animated debates within the tennis fraternity and the aftershocks of the topsy-turvy results have had quite an impact on the latest WTA rankings with just three players in the top twenty holding on to their pre-tournament positions.
Sixth-seeded Bianca Andreescu of Canada remained unaffected by the tumultuous changes after having withdrawn from the tournament, while Ashleigh Barty held on to her world no.1 ranking despite her semi-final defeat at the hands of eventual champion, Sofia Kenin.
Veteran Serena Williams retains her place as the ninth-seed in spite of her third-round defeat to Qiang Wang but her young rival Naomi Osaka slid six places to no.10 after falling to teenage giant-killer Coco Gauff.
Garbine Muguruza, who was unseeded at the Australian Open 2020, has shot up 16 places in the rankings to be perched at the 16th spot post the Australian Open.
The Spaniard, who made it to the finals after getting past Simona Halep, Kiki Bertens, and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, is now inching her way back to the world no.1 position she earned in late 2017.
Belinda Bencic was defeated by Annet Kontaveit in the Round of 32 but has still managed to rise a couple of places in the rankings. The 22-year-old Swiss now finds herself ranked as the fifth-best player in the world.
Needless to say, Australian Open champion Kenin is one of the principal beneficiaries post the magnificent show at Melbourne Park and has broken into the top ten of the world rankings after having been seeded 15th before the tournament.
The 21-year-old Russian-born American stopped Gauff's juggernaut of wins before accounting for top-seed Ashleigh Barty in the semi-finals.
Romanian star Simona Halep, who was clinical as ever throughout the course of the tournament, has taken Karolina Pliskova's place up at no.2, while the Czech, who fell to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the fourth round at Melbourne, finds herself in the third spot.
Annet Kontaveit of Estonia has risen nine places to be seeded 22nd after her gritty show at the Australian Open.
One of the biggest losers in the ranking race was Danielle Collins of the USA who nosedived a phenomenal 25 places to find herself down at no.50 - one slot above the teenager who took the Australian Open by storm.
Gauff has been rewarded for her phenomenal performance in Australia and the American prodigy has risen 16 places to be ranked 51st after getting past Venus Williams and Naomi Osaka.
Ons Jabeur of Tunisia has catapulted herself to the 45th position after rising through the ranks by 33 slots. The 25-year-old beat 2018 champion Caroline Wozniacki, who announced her retirement from the game post the loss at Melbourne.
The Latest WTA Top 20:
- Ashleigh Barty
- Simona Halep
- Karolina Pliskova
- Elina Svitolina
- Belinda Bencic
- Bianca Andreescu
- Sofia Kenin
- Kiki Bertens
- Serena Williams
- Naomi Osaka
- Petra Kvitova
- Madison Keys
- Aryna Sabalenka
- Johanna Konta
- Petra Martic
- Garbine Muguruza
- Marketa Vondrousova
- Alison Riske
- Elise Mertens
- Angelique Kerber