Coco Gauff’s Cincinnati triumph has restored a familiar American presence at the top of the WTA 1000 stage, while a breakthrough run by Czech 20-year-old Sara Bejlek has delivered the sharpest movement in this week’s rankings.
Coco Gauff wins second Cincinnati crown as Bejlek breaks into Top 30
SEO title: Coco Gauff wins Cincinnati as Sara Bejlek reaches WTA Top 30
SEO description: Coco Gauff beats Jessica Pegula for her second Cincinnati title, while Sara Bejlek’s semifinal run and win over Aryna Sabalenka lift her to No. 29.
Gauff defeated former doubles partner Jessica Pegula in the Cincinnati final to claim her first title since Wuhan last October. The 22-year-old American had gone 10 months without a trophy before lifting her 12th career singles title and fourth on home courts.
The result made Gauff a two-time winner at the Ohio WTA 1000, adding to her 2023 success at the tournament. Cincinnati is now the second event she has won more than once, following consecutive Auckland titles in 2023 and 2024.
The championship match was Cincinnati’s first all-American women’s final since Rosemary Casals beat Nancy Richey in 1970. It was also the first such final since the event received WTA 1000 status in 2009. The tour had previously seen one other all-American final in 2026, when Peyton Stearns defeated Taylor Townsend for the Austin title in February.
Pegula stays at No. 3 in the PIF WTA Rankings, with Gauff remaining immediately behind her at No. 4.
Bejlek’s Cincinnati run changes the rankings picture
Bejlek’s semifinal charge at the hard-court event carried her into the Top 30 for the first time. She rises six positions from No. 35 to No. 29 after reaching her first WTA 1000 semifinal.
Her Cincinnati campaign included the first Top 10 win of her career, a fourth-round upset of World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. Bejlek also came through matches against Grand Slam champions Barbora Krejcikova and Madison Keys, as well as former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova.
The Czech left-hander had already collected her first WTA title in Abu Dhabi in February, and her latest run confirms a rapid rise during the 2026 season.
New career highs inside the Top 20
- Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova moves up two places to a career-best No. 6 after reaching the fourth round in Cincinnati.
- Iva Jovic advances two spots to a new high of No. 14 following a third-round appearance.
- Washington champion Alexandra Eala also gains two places, reaching a personal best at No. 18 after making the third round.
Preston reaches Top 100 as Thailand makes history
Taylah Preston has become the 13th player to enter the Top 100 for the first time this year. The 20-year-old Australian rises one place to No. 100 despite not competing last week.
Preston has not played since taking her first WTA 125 trophy in Vancouver last month. Earlier in the year, she reached her first WTA semifinal in Hobart. She is the second Australian newcomer to the Top 100 in 2026, after Talia Gibson achieved the milestone in March.
Thailand has two women in the Top 100 simultaneously for the first time. Lanlana Tararudee climbs seven places to No. 72 after reaching the final qualifying round in Cincinnati, while Mananchaya Sawangkaew rises eight spots to No. 97 after beating Tararudee in qualifying to earn a main-draw place.
Sawangkaew and Tararudee have led a revival for Thai women’s tennis over the last two seasons. Sawangkaew became the first Thai player to make a tour-level quarterfinal since Luksika Kumkhum in 2018 when she reached that stage in Guangzhou in 2024. In June 2025, she became only the third Thai woman to reach the Top 100, after Kumkhum and Tamarine Tanasugarn, before a back injury kept her out for six months.
Tararudee reached the Chennai semifinals in 2025, the first Thai woman to make a tour-level semifinal since Kumkhum in Seoul in 2017. She then became the fourth Thai player to crack the Top 100 in May. Tararudee and Sawangkaew both appeared in this year’s Australian Open main draw, only the second occasion on which two Thai women have contested a Grand Slam main draw. The previous instance was the 2011 US Open, featuring Tanasugarn and Noppawan Lertcheewakarn.
Cincinnati performances fuel major gains
| Player | Ranking movement | Key result |
|---|---|---|
| Diane Parry | Up 16 to No. 50 | The French player reached the last 16, her third run to that stage or better at WTA 1000 level or above. It was her second such result of 2026 after Roland Garros and leaves her three places below her career peak of No. 47, set in June. |
| Wang Xiyu | Up 26 to No. 82 | After reaching the Roland Garros fourth round from qualifying, Wang repeated that feat in Cincinnati. The former No. 49 is rebuilding her ranking after a shoulder injury. |
| Anna Blinkova | Up 17 to No. 94 | The former world No. 34 qualified in Cincinnati and reached the second round, returning to the Top 100 for the first time since May. |
| Susan Bandecchi | Up 16 to No. 152 | The 28-year-old Swiss player sets a career high after winning the Aldershot W35 two weeks ago. She also made her Grand Slam main-draw debut at Roland Garros this year and reached round two. |
| Sloane Stephens | Up 32 to No. 208 | The former US Open champion made the Cincinnati third round, her first consecutive tour-level match wins since Madrid 2024. |
| Lois Boisson | Up 45 to No. 236 | The former Roland Garros semifinalist reached the third round, her first run of back-to-back wins at any level since Beijing 2025. |
Teenagers make their move on the lower tiers
Seventeen-year-old Rada Zolotareva enters the Top 300 for the first time at No. 285, a jump of 92 positions after coming through qualifying to win her first W75 title in Kursumlijska Banja.
Serbia’s Luna Vujovic, also 17, rises 64 places to a career-best No. 350. The former junior world No. 8 reached W75 semifinals in consecutive weeks on home courts in Kursumlijska Banja, qualifying on both occasions. Vujovic is now the second-highest-ranked player born in 2009, behind No. 284 Julieta Pareja.
Bulgarian 20-year-old Lidia Encheva climbs 87 spots to No. 353 after qualifying for and reaching her first W75 final in Kursumlijska Banja.
Kazakh player Sonja Zhiyenbayeva enters the Top 400 at No. 384 following a 70-place rise. The Pepperdine University player has won 12 consecutive matches, having followed her Ourense W75 title with the Vigo W35 crown two weeks ago.
Czech 16-year-old Jana Kovackova makes the largest leap among the group, surging 116 places to No. 434 after winning her first W50 title in Prague. In the semifinals, she defeated her 18-year-old sister Alena 6-4, 2-6, 7-5. Kovackova is the reigning girls’ doubles champion at all four Grand Slam tournaments and ranks second among players born in 2010, behind No. 125 Kristina Liutova.
