WTA rankings update: Where Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek stand ahead of the 2026 Australian Open swing

The 2025 season was a memorable one for Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka, and Iga Swiatek, with each of them winning a Major and remaining in the top three of the WTA rankings. As the 2026 season is about to get underway in Australia, the trio, along with the tour's other big names, will be eager to make a bright start to their season.

Sabalenka won four titles from nine finals in 2025, including the US Open, and finished the season ranked No. 1, making it her second consecutive year-end finish atop the leaderboard. Swiatek and Gauff's respective triumphs at Wimbledon and the French Open helped them wrap up the year in second and third place.

Amanda Anisimova rose through the ranks to end the season ranked No. 4. After an up-and-down season, Elena Rybakina capped off the year on a high with her victory at the WTA Finals, thus securing her No. 5 finish in the WTA rankings.

Teen star Mirra Andreeva and compatriot Ekaterina Alexandrova clinched their very first finish within the top 10 of the WTA rankings, coming in at No. 9 and No. 10 respectively. Just outside of the top 10, two players made a giant leap from where they stood over a year ago.

Belinda Bencic embarked on her comeback following the birth of her daughter towards the end of 2024. After a couple of ITF events, she went from being unranked to within the top 500 by the end of December. Fast forward to a year later, she finished 2025 ranked No. 11.

Teenager Victoria Mboko was outside the top 300 a year ago. 2025 marked her breakout season, during which she won her maiden WTA 1000 title. She bagged her second title towards the end of the year, and broke into the top 20 to finish 2025 ranked No. 18. Here's a look at the top 20 of the WTA rankings before the start of the 2026 season:

To view the full WTA rankings, click here.

Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff's WTA rankings spots under threat at the Australian Open 2026

Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka at the Madrid Open 2025. (Photo: Getty)

Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff will start the upcoming Australian swing ranked No. 1 and No. 3 respectively. However, they may not leave Down Under ranked with their positions intact.

Sabalenka's reign atop the WTA rankings will be challenged by Iga Swiatek. The former is defending 1,800 points in Australia, while the latter is defending 1,105 points. Sabalenka does have a healthy lead of 2,475 points, so Swiatek will need to end the Australian swing undefeated while hoping for the Belarusian to make early exits as well.

While the odds favor Sabalenka to retain her top spot, Gauff is unlikely to be that fortunate. She leads Amanda Anisimova by 476 points, and is defending 930 points Down Under, compared to her compatriot's paltry 100 points.

Unless Gauff outperforms Anisimova by a fair margin, the latter is poised to leave Australia as the new World No. 3. This could happen even before the start of the Australian Open. If Gauff fails to defend her 500 points at the United Cup, and Anisimova makes a deep run at the Brisbane International, then the latter will rise to a new peak of No. 3.

Edited by Rohit