Garbine Muguruza will become the new WTA World No.1 when the updated rankings are released on Monday, September 11.
The 23-year-old reached the second week of the US Open for the first time this year before falling to Petra Kvitova in the fourth round, and has emerged on top of a field of eight women who could potentially have finished the tournament at No.1. Muguruza’s position was sealed after current No.1 and last year’s runner-up Karolina Pliskova fell to CoCo Vandeweghe in the quarter-finals, failing to defend her finalist points.
Muguruza becomes the second player representing Spain to achieve this historic milestone since the computer rankings were introduced in 1975, and would be the 24th woman overall to hold the No.1 ranking. She follows in the footsteps of compatriot Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario, who held the top spot for 12 weeks across three separate spells in 1995.
Born in Venezuela, Muguruza moved to Spain in 1999 at the age of six. Her rise to the summit comes after her second Grand Slam title, which she won at Wimbledon in July, beating Venus Williams in the final.
She had previously won Roland Garros in 2016, when she became just the fifth woman to defeat Serena Williams in a major final.
Muguruza’s rise to WTA World No.1 brings an end to the reign of Czech Pliskova, who spent eight weeks in the position this summer.
