WTA 2024: The top 10 takes the lead of the circuit

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The WTA 2024 season has come to an end, and it's time to take out the scorecard and analyze what has happened. We are talking about a circuit known in recent years for the instability of its protagonists, the variable nature of the top 10, and the lack of authority from the top players. It is fair to say that the feelings we had from the previous season have been confirmed and intensified twelve months later. I, who defended so much the excitement and fun of a changing locker room, can now anticipate a time far removed from those circumstances. Just look at the most recent results to understand that the box of surprises has run out of stories.

Let's start our journey with the most important tournaments, the four Grand Slams, where six women had the luxury of reaching the final rounds: Aryna Sabalenka, Qinwen Zheng, Iga Swiatek, Jasmine Paolini, Barbora Krejcikova, and Jessica Pegula. Only the Belarusian was able to repeat – champion of the Australian Open and the US Open – although much credit also goes to the Italian, who fell just short twice this summer – runner-up in Roland Garros and Wimbledon. The fact is that all of them ended the season sharing a hotel at the WTA Finals, demonstrating a continuity that has placed them within the world's top 10.

Let's now broaden the picture to cover the ten WTA 1000 events, where we usually find a greater variety of opportunities and contenders for victory. Here we see that only Iga Swiatek (Doha, Indian Wells, Madrid, Rome) and Aryna Sabalenka (Cincinnati, Wuhan) already dominated more than half of the loot, once again showing who the two women are that have come to establish order amidst so much turmoil. The rest of the titles went to Jasmine Paolini (Dubai), Danielle Collins (Miami), Jessica Pegula (Toronto), and Coco Gauff (Beijing). No trace of 'Cinderellas,' impossible upsets, or unknown champions outside the top 80. The biggest surprise was Collins, someone who already had a Grand Slam final and a top-10 ranking in her history.

We close the circle with the other two most relevant tournaments that make up the most luxurious part of the pyramid. On one hand, the Olympic Games in Paris, where Qinwen Zheng outshone all her rivals to make history for her country. On the other hand, the WTA Finals in Riyadh, where Coco Gauff found inspiration to claim famous victories over Swiatek and Sabalanka, sealing her Masters title against Qinwen herself, who ends the season within the top 5 in the world after multiplying her aspirations and expectations across all categories offered by the tour. Once again, the same names are repeated, narratives that have accompanied us for eleven months of the calendar, preventing second and third-tier racquets from taking the stage.

NUMBERS CONFIRMING THE NEW ORDER

You already know the names of the main WTA champions of the season, but let's reinforce this new hierarchy through numbers, specifically through the rankings. In the entire list we mentioned in the previous paragraphs, we only find three cases of women who rose to victory without being part of the top 10: Jasmine Paolini (#26) in Dubai, Danielle Collins (#53) in Miami, and Barbora Krejcikova (#32) in Wimbledon. But things never end as they begin, but as they finish. Where are these three players currently ranked? The Italian is #4 globally, the American is #11, and the Czech is #10.

Let's go a step further, let's also study the runners-up, those who were just a breath away from smiling in the photo. In this case, Amanda Anisimova (#132) is the only player of 2024 who reached one of the 16 major finals (Toronto) starting from outside the top 50. Considering what we have seen in previous seasons, this fact seems like an absolute anomaly, that exception that confirms the new rule. Other instances, though slightly deceptive, could be Qinwen Zheng (#15) in the Australian Open, Jasmine Paolini (#15) in Roland Garros, or Karolina Muchova (#49) in Beijing, all of them established and belonging to the top echelon of the circuit beyond their ranking. What would then be the big surprise of the year? For me, one of the breakthroughs that reminded me of Raducanu, Andreescu, and company was seeing Donna Vekic (#21) clinching an Olympic silver. Although we shouldn't overlook that Alexei Popyrin has also won a Masters 1000.

As these sensations are challenging to convey without a scientific approach, I found it necessary to take out the calculator and calculate an average of all the champions and finalists of these 16 tournaments in the 2024 season. The result speaks for itself: 9.1. That is the average ranking needed to compete for the most important trophies of the year, the latest evidence of how difficult it has become to reach the top floors of a building now guarded by the top 10. The same analysis in the men's circuit gives us an average of 7.4, but by no means should this be seen as a battle of the sexes. What matters now is that the best are not just the best for a moment, but they are capable of dominating their rivals throughout an entire calendar year. Let's see if this funnel narrows even further in 2025.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, WTA 2024. El top10 toma el mando del circuito