WTA Rankings update: Naomi Osaka returns to top 50 after Auckland heroics; Aryna Sabalenka increases lead over Iga Swiatek after Brisbane triumph

The 2025 WTA season has kicked off with events in Australia. Players will be taking these tournaments as warm-up events before the Australian Open begins on January 12.

The season started with a WTA 250 event at the ASB Classic and a WTA 500 event at the Brisbane International. Clara Tauson won the event in Auckland, earning 201 points. That took her overall points tally to 1271 and helped her jump 9 places in the rankings, moving from 50 to 41.

On the other hand, Aryna Sabalenka continued her dominance from last season, as she bagged the Brisbane International title. This win gave the Belarusian 175 points, solidifying her top-rank position with 9591 points, keeping her a safe distance away from the second-ranked Iga Swiatek.

Naomi Osaka gave indications of returning to her vintage form as she reached her first final since 2022 at the ASB Classic. Unfortunately for the former World No. 1, she had to retire from the match due to injury despite winning the first set. However, her final run gave her 131 points, helping her to get to 49 on the WTA Rankings with an overall points tally of 1145.

Another significant mover on the WTA rankings was Polina Kudermetova, who began the year with a run to the final at the Brisbane International. She gave a tough fight to Sabalenka in the final, losing in three sets. Her Brisbane performance earned the Russian 335 points, helping her achieve a career-high ranking of 58 with 1036 points.

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The United Cup saw players move on the WTA rankings as well

Coco Gauff with the 2025 United Cup (Getty)

The United Cup was the other competition that kickstarted the ATP Tour in the opening week. Top WTA players like Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina, and Coco Gauff participated in the event representing their respective nations.

Gauff had the most successful stint at the United Cup as she won all her 5 matches, including the final against Iga Swiatek. This gave the American a total of 250 points, taking her points tally to 6780, keeping her in the 3rd position on the rankings.

Swiatek had a 4-1 win/loss record at the United Cup. She won all her matches barring the final against Gauff. This saw her lose 175 points, taking her tally down to 8120 points which kept her in the second spot but increased the gap between her and Sabalenka in the top spot.

Finally, Elena Rybakina had a 3-1 record at the United Cup, after her loss to Swiatek in the semifinals. The Kazakh player, however, lost 405 points, as she did not defend her 500 points from the Brisbane International last year. Her overall points reduced to 4766 points but she remained on the sixth spot in the rankings.