A New Name at the Top: Rybakina Takes No 1 as Shelton Breaks Into the Top Four

The first ranking lists published after the US Open make it official. Elena Rybakina is the new world No 1, and her win in New York puts more than 2,000 points between her and the rest of the tour. The men's list has changed too: Ben Shelton is up to No 4, Novak Djokovic has slipped out of the top ten, and the race to finish the year at No 1 has become a proper contest.

Key takeaways

WTA No 1: Rybakina leads on 9,901 points, with Sabalenka second on 7,875. Sabalenka's run of 99 consecutive weeks at the top is over.
Top-ten debut: Marta Kostyuk moves up to No 10 and pushes out Amanda Anisimova.
Biggest WTA climb: Zheng Qinwen goes up 69 places to No 52 after coming through qualifying and reaching the quarter-finals.
ATP mover: runner-up Ben Shelton climbs five places to No 4.
Out of the top ten: Novak Djokovic drops seven places to No 12 after losing in the first round.
British milestone: Toby Samuel enters the top 100 at No 95.

WTA: Rybakina's reign begins

Rybakina had already secured the top spot before the final. Beating Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 for the title turned that into a clear lead. It was her first US Open and third major. She has now won both hard-court slams in 2026, and her two biggest wins of the year both came against the player she replaced at No 1. She has also secured her place at the WTA Finals. In the Race she leads Sabalenka by just over 1,000 points.

Below the top two, Elina Svitolina gained the most among the leading players. She is up two places to No 7, now ahead of both Karolina Muchova and Iga Swiatek. Another deep run at a major brought Kostyuk into the top ten for the first time. Further down, Yuliia Starodubtseva went up 15 places to No 43 and Karolina Pliskova 12 places to No 45. The biggest gain belongs to Zheng. She started in the qualifying draw in New York, lost only to the eventual champion, and is now back just outside the top 50.

Several players fell a long way. Barbora Krejcikova is down nine places to No 38 and Magdalena Frech 16 places to No 57. Daria Kasatkina dropped 24 places to No 85, and she has more points to defend, so she could fall out of the top 100 before the end of the year.

WTA	Player	Points
1	Elena Rybakina (KAZ)	9,901
2	Aryna Sabalenka (BLR)	7,875
3	Jessica Pegula (USA)	7,265
4	Coco Gauff (USA)	7,244
5	Mirra Andreeva (RUS)	5,743
6	Linda Noskova (CZE)	5,328
7	Elina Svitolina (UKR)	4,809
8	Karolina Muchova (CZE)	4,683
9	Iga Swiatek (POL)	4,619
10	Marta Kostyuk (UKR)	3,980

ATP: Shelton's breakthrough fortnight

Shelton went into the US Open as the eighth seed with a tough draw and got all the way to the final. On the way he beat defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in a final-set tie-break that ended in the early hours. Alexander Zverev beat him in four sets in the final, but the run still lifts Shelton to No 4 and third in the Race. For Zverev, it was a first US Open title and a second major.

The other semi-finalists also climbed. Frances Tiafoe, who reached his third semi-final in New York, is up four places to No 8. Karen Khachanov gained 24 places and is now No 26. Among the quarter-finalists, Alex Michelsen, who lost narrowly to Tiafoe, is up 12 places to No 34. Botic van de Zandschulp jumped 30 places to No 40.

The biggest name among the fallers is Djokovic. His first-round loss dropped him to No 12. Lorenzo Musetti lost six places and is close to leaving the top 20. Jan-Lennard Struff fell 20 places to No 64 and Tomas Machac 17 places to No 75.

ATP	Player	Points
1	Jannik Sinner (ITA)	11,500
2	Alexander Zverev (GER)	6,960
3	Carlos Alcaraz (ESP)	5,560
4	Ben Shelton (USA)	4,680
5	Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN)	3,890
6	Daniil Medvedev (RUS)	3,770
7	Flavio Cobolli (ITA)	3,720
8	Frances Tiafoe (USA)	3,380
9	Alex de Minaur (AUS)	3,300
10	Taylor Fritz (USA)	3,175

The Race to Turin

Alexander Zverev leads the 2026 Race on 8,650 points and has already qualified.
Jannik Sinner is 700 points behind on 7,950 and has also qualified.
Ben Shelton (4,430) is well clear in third, ahead of Carlos Alcaraz (4,050) and Flavio Cobolli (3,530).
Sinner is still far ahead in the 52-week ranking, but the Race gap shows that Zverev has a real chance of finishing the year at No 1.

The British picture

For British men, the main news is Toby Samuel. His run in New York lifted him 15 places to No 95, his first time in the top 100. Arthur Fery is British No 1 again even though he slipped three places to No 36. Cameron Norrie is four places lower at No 39. Harry Wendelken gained 21 places to reach No 175. Jack Draper lost 14 places and is now No 155.

For British women, results were mixed. Katie Boulter climbed nine places to No 53 and is close to the top 50 again. Harriet Dart gained 19 places to No 112 after a strong US Open. Emma Raducanu fell 19 places and is now No 89.

British top five

Men: Arthur Fery (36), Cameron Norrie (39), Jan Choinski (74), Toby Samuel (95), Jacob Fearnley (97)
Women: Katie Boulter (53), Emma Raducanu (89), Francesca Jones (106), Harriet Dart (112), Sonay Kartal (121)

The bottom line. The two tours now look quite different. Rybakina leads the WTA by about 2,000 points after beating Sabalenka in two slam finals, and she has earned that No 1 spot. On the men's side, Sinner's ranking lead looks huge, but the Race shows Zverev narrowly ahead this season. With the Asian swing and the indoor events still to come, the fight for year-end No 1 on the ATP is still open.