Rankings Watch: Uchijima, Osaka, Ito hit milestones for Japan

The Hologic WTA Tour's clay swing is well and truly under way following the conclusion of the Mutua Madrid Open, the fifth WTA 1000 tournament of the season. The latest edition of the PIF WTA Rankings also includes two WTA 125 tournaments in Saint-Malo, France and Vic, Spain.

Aryna Sabalenka lifted the trophy for a third time following her victorious runs in 2021 and 2023, equaling Petra Kvitova's record number of Madrid titles. World No. 1 Sabalenka has now reached the final at six of eight tournaments played in 2025 and widens the gap between herself and World No. 2 Iga Swiatek to 4,345 points.

Runner-up Coco Gauff routed Swiatek 6-1, 6-1 for her third straight win over the World No. 2, reaching her first final since the 2024 WTA Finals in Riyadh. The 21-year-old climbs back to No. 3 and reclaims the American No. 1 spot from Jessica Pegula.

Uchijima, Osaka, Ito, Sonobe score milestones for Japan

Japanese players have thrived over the past fortnight. Moyuka Uchijima was Madrid's surprise package, scoring the first three Top 25 wins of her career -- including a third-round upset of Pegula -- to make her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal. This time last year, Uchijima put together a 19-match winning streak (including the Madrid ITF W100 title) to break into the Top 100. Now, she's cracked the Top 50 for the first time, rising nine places from No. 56 to No. 47.

Following a first-round loss in Madrid to Lucia Bronzetti, former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka dropped down to WTA 125 level for the first time in a decade in Saint-Malo. The decision paid off. Osaka -- who came from 4-1 down in the third set to defeat Diane Parry in the second round -- walked away with her first trophy since the 2021 Australian Open, and the first of her career on clay at any level. She returns to the Top 50 with a seven-place jump to No. 48.

Photos: All the Top 100 breakthroughs of 2025

Aoi Ito, who has drawn attention for her unorthodox game style, opted to compete at home instead. The 20-year-old made the 2024 Osaka semifinals on her WTA debut, and was also the Canberra WTA 125 champion in January. Her semifinal run at the Tokyo ITF W100 two weeks ago has enabled her to break into the Top 100 for the first time, inching up one place to No. 100.

Australian Open junior champion Wakana Sonobe caused a splash on her WTA debut in February by qualifying and reaching the second round of Abu Dhabi. The powerful 17-year-old collected her first pro title two weeks ago at the Tokyo ITF W100 and roars up 161 places from No. 448 to a new career high of No. 287.

Ukrainians Svitolina, Kostyuk, Starodubtseva make mark on Madrid

Three Ukrainians delivered career-best performances in Madrid. In nine previous appearances, Elina Svitolina won only three matches at the tournament -- none consecutively. She made up for lost time with a run to the semifinals, extending her winning streak to 11 following her Rouen title run three weeks ago and Billie Jean King Cup action the week before that. The 30-year-old is up three spots to No. 14, her highest ranking since October 2021.

Marta Kostyuk made her second WTA 1000 quarterfinal of 2025 in Madrid with wins over Emma Raducanu and Veronika Kudermetova. Having dropped out of the Top 30 two weeks ago for the first time since March 2024, Kostyuk immediately rebounded with a nine-place jump to No. 27.

Last October, Yuliia Starodubtseva broke into the Top 100 after reaching the Beijing quarterfinals as a qualifier -- only to lose 16 out of her next 19 matches, including all six at tour level. The 25-year-old ended her dry spell in style, once again as a qualifier at a WTA 1000 event. Starodubtseva made the last 16 in Madrid, notching her second Top 20 win over Liudmila Samsonova in the third round, and climbs 19 places to No. 80.

Hungarians Galfi, Bondar thrive on clay

Former No. 79 Dalma Galfi has been quietly putting together a hot streak at WTA 125 level. The 26-year-old -- a former junior No. 1 -- was runner-up in La Bisbal d'Empordà four weeks ago, then followed that with her first two WTA 125 titles in Antalya and Vic. After compiling a 14-1 record over the past month, Galfi rises 26 places to No. 95 this week, returning to the Top 100 for the first time since June 2023.

Fellow Hungarian and former No. 50 Anna Bondar was also a title-winner last week, lifting the Wiesbaden ITF W100 trophy for the second time. The 27-year-old climbs 13 places to No. 89.

Other notable rankings movements

Jasmine Paolini, +1 to No. 5: The Italian made the third round of Madrid, and returns to the Top 5 for the first time since February.

Diana Shnaider, +2 to No. 11: Playing her second event with former No. 1 Dinara Safina as her coach, Shnaider won consecutive matches for the first time since January to reach the Madrid fourth round. The 20-year-old moves to a new career high.

Anna Blinkova, +9 to No. 67: Blinkova qualified and reached the second round of Madrid, where she delivered a strong performance against eventual champion Sabalenka.

Yuan Yue, +10 to No. 93: After losing 10 of her first 13 matches of the year and falling out of the Top 100 in March, former No. 36 Yuan ended her dry spell with a title run at the Oeiras ITF W100 two weeks ago -- her first career trophy at any level on clay.

Mananchaya Sawangkaew, +8 to No. 105: The 22-year-old Thai player moves to a new career high after reaching the Gifu ITF W100 final last week.

Rebeka Masarova, +41 to No. 112: Former No. 62 Masarova lost seven out of her first 10 matches of 2025, but has been resurgent over the past two months. Since March, the 25-year-old Swiss player has compiled a 16-5 record; in the last fortnight, she reached the Madrid third round as a qualifier then followed it by a run to the final at the Vic WTA 125.

Iva Jovic, +21 to No. 120: The 17-year-old American claimed her first ITF W100 title in Charlottesville two weeks ago, and is lifted to a new career high. Her clay-court results this year have earned her the USTA's reciprocal wild card for Roland Garros.

Zhang Shuai, +28 to No. 136: Former No. 22 Zhang won the Gifu ITF W100 last week, the 36-year-old's first singles title at any level since Lyon 2022.

Astra Sharma, +47 to No. 154: Sharma, the 2021 Charleston 250 champion, thrived on green clay again over the last two weeks. The 29-year-old Australian reached the Charlottesville ITF W100 semifinals, then took the Bonita Springs ITF W100 title without dropping a set.

Whitney Osuigwe, +21 to No. 158: Osuigwe's resurgence continued with a run to the Bonita Springs ITF W100 final last week. The 23-year-old American has compiled a 32-10 record in 2025 so far.

Julia Grabher, +76 to No. 162: Grabher's comeback from wrist surgery has gathered serious momentum over the past month with a 21-match winning streak (excluding Billie Jean King Cup). The Austrian former No. 54 claimed her third consecutive ITF trophy two weeks ago at the Chiasso W75 before her streak was ended by Bondar in last week's Wiesbaden W100 final.

Emerson Jones, +38 to No. 236: Junior No. 1 Jones reached the Gifu ITF W100 semifinals last week before falling to eventual champion Zhang in three sets. The Australian 16-year-old reaches a new career high.

Harmony Tan, +39 to No. 244: Former No. 90 Tan claimed her first title in over a year at last week's Yecla ITF W50.

Kaja Juvan, +159 to No. 356: After a 12-month break from competition in 2024, former No. 58 Juvan returned to action unranked in January. Last week, the Slovenian defeated Katie Volynets and Viktorija Golubic to reach the Saint-Malo WTA 125 final -- her first at any level since Strasbourg 2022.

Alisa Oktiabreva, +124 to No. 447: Oktiabreva, 16, claimed her second ITF W35 title of the year in Leme, Brazil three weeks ago and breaks the Top 500 for the first time. 

Teodora Kostovic, +101 to No. 524: Former junior No. 5 Kostovic reached the final qualifying round of both Abu Dhabi and Miami as a wild card this year. In Madrid, the 17-year-old Serb went one better, defeating Elena-Gabriela Ruse and Lucrezia Stefanini to make her first WTA main draw.

Katarina Jokic, +513 to No. 595: University of Georgia alumna Jokic was sidelined for six months in 2024. Last week, she defeated Jovic and Laura Pigossi en route to the Bonita Springs ITF W100 semifinals.