WTA rankings: Zheng up to No. 23, Andreeva to a career-high third

Thirty-one. That is how many places Qinwen Zheng climbed in this week's WTA rankings, from No. 54 to No. 23. It puts her back inside the top 50 and within three places of the top 20, the biggest climb inside the top 100 this week.

Zheng is 24, and the jump came from one tournament. She won Beijing, beating Mirra Andreeva in the final, and a title at tour level moves a player a long way when she starts outside the top 50. Zheng arrived at No. 54 and leaves at No. 23, a rise of 31 places since the previous ranking. Her best ranking is No. 4, so this is a return toward familiar territory rather than a new peak.

The rest of the movement sat further down. Madison Keys went from 23 to 20 and into the top 20, and that gave the United States a fifth place there, up from four. Alina Charaeva rose from 118 to 98 and into the top 100, her best ranking; she beat the No. 1 Elena Rybakina along the way in Beijing. Sinja Kraus climbed from 95 to 75, also her best. Others went the other way. Jasmine Paolini fell out of the top 20, from 20 to 33, and Katerina Siniakova dropped from 55 to 87.

At the top, Andreeva is up from 5 to a career-high No. 3 at 19, the first time she has been this high. Rybakina holds No. 1, equalling her best ranking, despite losing her opening match in Beijing, and she keeps a clear lead over Aryna Sabalenka at No. 2. Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff each slipped a place, to 4 and 5. Marta Kostyuk stays at No. 10, which equals her best ranking.

Ranking tale, 12 October 2026, sources: WTA rankings, api-tennis