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

The Hologic WTA Tour clay swing is now fully active following the conclusion of the Mutua Madrid Open, the fifth WTA 1000 event of the season. The latest PIF WTA Rankings also incorporate results from two WTA 125 tournaments held in Saint-Malo, France, and Vic, Spain.

Aryna Sabalenka secured her third Madrid title, matching Petra Kvitova`s record, after successful runs in 2021 and 2023. World No. 1 Sabalenka has reached the final in six of her eight tournaments played in 2025, extending her lead over World No. 2 Iga Swiatek to 4,345 points.

Coco Gauff, the runner-up, defeated Swiatek with a dominant 6-1, 6-1 scoreline, marking her third consecutive win against the World No. 2 and reaching her first final since the 2024 WTA Finals in Riyadh. The 21-year-old is back at No. 3, surpassing Jessica Pegula to become the top-ranked American player.

Key achievements for Japanese players: Uchijima, Osaka, Ito, Sonobe.

Japanese players have had a strong two weeks. Moyuka Uchijima was a standout surprise in Madrid, achieving her first three victories against Top 25 opponents, including an upset over Pegula in the third round, to reach her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal. A year ago, Uchijima entered the Top 100 after winning 19 consecutive matches (including the Madrid ITF W100). Now, she has entered the Top 50 for the first time, moving up nine spots from No. 56 to No. 47.

After an initial loss in Madrid, former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka competed at the WTA 125 level in Saint-Malo for the first time in a decade. This proved successful. Osaka, who came back from 4-1 down in the third set against Diane Parry in the second round, claimed her first trophy since the 2021 Australian Open and her first career title on clay at any level. She re-enters the Top 50, climbing seven places to No. 48.

Aoi Ito, known for her distinctive playing style, chose to compete in Japan. The 20-year-old reached the semifinals in Osaka on her WTA debut in 2024 and also won the Canberra WTA 125 title in January. Her recent semifinal appearance at the Tokyo ITF W100 two weeks ago allowed her to break into the Top 100 for the first time, rising one spot to No. 100.

Australian Open junior champion Wakana Sonobe made an impressive WTA debut in February by qualifying and reaching the second round in Abu Dhabi. The powerful 17-year-old won her first professional title at the Tokyo ITF W100 two weeks ago and significantly climbed the rankings by 161 places, from No. 448 to a new career-best of No. 287.

Ukrainians Svitolina, Kostyuk, and Starodubtseva shine in Madrid.

Three Ukrainian players achieved personal bests at the Madrid tournament. Elina Svitolina, who had only won three matches in her nine previous Madrid appearances (none consecutively), made a strong run to the semifinals. This extended her winning streak to 11 matches, following her Rouen title and Billie Jean King Cup matches in the preceding weeks. The 30-year-old moved up three spots to No. 14, her highest rank since October 2021.

Marta Kostyuk reached her second WTA 1000 quarterfinal of 2025 in Madrid, with wins against notable opponents. After briefly falling out of the Top 30 two weeks prior, she immediately improved her ranking by nine places to No. 27.

Last October, Yuliia Starodubtseva entered the Top 100 after reaching the Beijing quarterfinals as a qualifier. However, she subsequently lost 16 of her next 19 matches, including all six at the tour level. The 25-year-old ended this losing streak impressively, again as a qualifier at a WTA 1000 event. Starodubtseva reached the round of 16 in Madrid, securing her second win against a Top 20 player in the third round, and rose 19 spots to No. 80.

Hungarian players Galfi and Bondar perform well on clay.

Dalma Galfi, formerly ranked No. 79 and a former junior No. 1, has been performing consistently well at the WTA 125 level. The 26-year-old was a finalist four weeks ago, followed by winning her first two WTA 125 titles. With a record of 14 wins and 1 loss over the past month, Galfi climbed 26 positions to No. 95 this week, returning to the Top 100 for the first time since June 2023.

Another Hungarian player, Anna Bondar (formerly No. 50), also won a title last week, taking the Wiesbaden ITF W100 trophy for the second time. The 27-year-old moved up 13 places to No. 89.

Other significant ranking changes.

• Jasmine Paolini, +1 to No. 5: The Italian reached the third round in Madrid and is back in the Top 5 since February.
• Diana Shnaider, +2 to No. 11: In her second tournament with former No. 1 Dinara Safina as coach, Shnaider won consecutive matches for the first time since January to reach the Madrid fourth round, achieving a new career high.
• Anna Blinkova, +9 to No. 67: Blinkova qualified and reached the second round in Madrid, where she gave a strong performance against the eventual champion Sabalenka.
• Yuan Yue, +10 to No. 93: After a difficult start to the year (10 losses in 13 matches, falling out of the Top 100 in March), Yuan ended her slump by winning the Oeiras ITF W100 title two weeks ago, her first clay court trophy at any level.
• Mananchaya Sawangkaew, +8 to No. 105: The 22-year-old Thai player reached a new career high after making the Gifu ITF W100 final last week.
• Rebeka Masarova, +41 to No. 112: Formerly ranked No. 62, Masarova had a tough start to 2025 but has improved significantly in the last two months. Since March, she has a 16-5 record. In the past fortnight, she qualified and reached the third round in Madrid, then reached the final of a WTA 125 event, climbing 41 places.
• Iva Jovic, +21 to No. 120: The 17-year-old American won her first ITF W100 title two weeks ago, achieving a new career high.
• Zhang Shuai, +28 to No. 136: Formerly No. 22, Zhang won the Gifu ITF W100 last week. This is the 36-year-old`s first singles title at any level since 2022.
• Astra Sharma, +47 to No. 154: Sharma, a former champion on green clay, performed well recently. The 29-year-old Australian was a semifinalist at one ITF W100 and then won another ITF W100 title without dropping a set.
• Whitney Osuigwe, +21 to No. 158: Osuigwe`s strong performance continued with a run to an ITF W100 final last week. The 23-year-old American has a 32-10 record in 2025 so far.
• Julia Grabher, +76 to No. 162: Grabher`s return from wrist surgery has gained significant momentum over the past month with a 21-match winning streak (excluding Billie Jean King Cup). The former Austrian No. 54 won her third consecutive ITF trophy two weeks ago before her streak ended in a W100 final last week.
• Emerson Jones, +38 to No. 236: Junior No. 1 Jones reached the semifinals of the Gifu ITF W100 last week, losing to the eventual champion in three sets. The 16-year-old Australian reached a new career high.
• Harmony Tan, +39 to No. 244: Formerly No. 90, Tan won her first title in over a year at an ITF W50 last week.
• Kaja Juvan, +159 to No. 356: After a 12-month break in 2024, former No. 58 Juvan returned unranked in January. Last week, she reached a WTA 125 final (her first at any level since 2022) by defeating notable opponents.
• Alisa Oktiabreva, +124 to No. 447: Oktiabreva, 16, won her second ITF W35 title of the year three weeks ago and entered the Top 500 for the first time.
• Teodora Kostovic, +101 to No. 524: Former junior No. 5 Kostovic reached the final qualifying round in two WTA events this year. In Madrid, the 17-year-old Serb went further, defeating opponents to reach her first WTA main draw.
• Katarina Jokic, +513 to No. 595: A former college player, Jokic was sidelined for six months in 2024. Last week, she reached an ITF W100 semifinals, defeating strong players.