WTA race to Riyadh after US Open: Aryna Sabalenka qualifies and inches closer Iga Swiatek, battle between 4 Americans, including Coco Gauff, heats up

The Grand Slam season on the WTA calendar came to a close after the US Open ended on September 7. World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka won her third Career Major title, beating home favorite Jessica Pegula in the final.

The win helped Sabalenka earn 2000 points and take her season tally to 7876 points, qualifying for the year-ending championships. The Belarusian is breathing down Iga Swiatek's neck, who is at the top spot with 8285 points after her 430-point gain from the quarter-final run at the US Open.

The top 8 on the WTA Race ranking saw some movement among the players who were already there, but did not see any new player breaking into the quota after the US Open. Elena Rybakina and Jasmine Paolini earned 70 and 240 points in New York respectively and held on to their third and fourth positions on the rankings. The Kazakh forfeited her second-round match, whereas the Italian reached the fourth round, losing to Karolina Muchova.

The next four positions on the Race rankings are a close battle between four Americans. Defending US Open champion Coco Gauff lost to Emma Navarro in the fourth round this year, which saw her gain 240 points. On the other hand, Jessica Pegula got 1300 points by reaching her maiden Major final rising to No.5 on the race rankings, and pushing Gauff down to No. 6.

Emma Navarro and Danielle Collins rounded off the top 8 on the Race rankings after New York. Navarro secured 780 points as she reached the semi-final in New York, whereas Collins could only secure 10 points from the Open as he lost in the first round against Caroline Dolehide.

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Paula Badosa and Karolina Muchova among major movers on the WTA race rankings

Paula Badosa in action (Getty)

Paula Badosa returned to form and reached her maiden Grand Slam quarter-final at the US Open, where she squandered a 5-1 advantage in the second set against Emma Navarro to lose in straight sets. However, her run in New York saw her gain 430 points, and rise to 14th on the race rankings.

She is still adrift by more than 800 points from the 8th-ranked Danielle Collins, but with the Asian hard court phase coming up, the former World No. 2 could make a play for the annual championships.

Another significant mover on the race rankings was US Open semi-finalist Karolina Muchova who reached the last four in New York for a second consecutive year. The Czech player earned 780 points which saw her jump her 66 positions and rise to the 38th position on the race rankings. However, given the fact that she has played a limited number of events this year due to injury and the season is coming to an end, it will be difficult for Muchova to reach the top 8.

Beatriz Haddad Maia was another player who had significant upward movement on the rankings, whereas Qinwen Zheng and Barbora Krejcikova were in the ninth and tenth positions respectively, and in a tight contest to reach the top 8.