2026 WTA News & Gossip

[El Dude]

Graf did Zvereva, but I'm sure there are better ones!

Yeah, that's a good one - but a MUCH better player than Zvereva was double bageled.

 

[britbox]

Yeah, that's a good one - but a MUCH better player than Zvereva was double bageled.

I've got a couple but had to Google... will let it play out a bit longer first. Will PM

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Marketa Vondrousova has withdrawn from Abi Dhabi due to her ongoing shoulder injury
Marketa cant seem to take a trick sad to say

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Well Emma Raducanu will be searching for a new coach, as she and Francisco Roig have split, just one month ago that Raducanu had agreed to extend their partnership for 1 year.Their partnership lasted 6 months
I could see this coming after her comments when she went out early at the AO, blaming everyone else but herself
Good Luck trying to find a coach that wants to coach you Emma!
Emma will travel to Romania for her next tournament with an interim coach Alexis Canter, good luck Alexis you will need it! ( Alexis was a former GBR tennis player whose ranking was No 773)

 

[PhiEaglesfan712]

I've got a couple but had to Google... will let it play out a bit longer first. Will PM

Is Anisimova considered better than Zvereva?

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Oh wait! my English tennis friend just sent me a list of Emma Raducanu's tennis coaches in the last 5 years,
Nigel Sears ( father of Kim Sears, Andrew Murrays wife)
Andrew Richardson
Torben Beltz ( he used to coach Angie Kerber)
Jane O'Donaghue
Iain Bates
Lousis Cayer
Dimitry Tursunov ( retired ATP player)
Sebastioan Sachs
Nick Cvaday
Jane O'Donaghue ( 2nd spell)
Mark Petchy
Francis Roig

 

[britbox]

Is Anisimova considered better than Zvereva?

Not sure, but @El Dude has much bigger names which I'm sure he'll unveil.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Naomi Osaka will not make a swift return to the WTA Tour after withdrawing from an event during the Middle Eastern swing with an ongoing abdominal injury, which caused her to withdraw the 4th round at the AO, where she was due to play Iga Swiatek

 

[El Dude]

TRIVIA ANSWER:
Easily the best WTA player to ever be double-bageled was none other than GOAT-candidate Martina Navratilova, who lost 6-0 6-0 to Chris Evert in the 1981 Amelie Island tournament final. Amelie Island, for youngsters, was the equivalent of a Masters 1000 at the time - one of the biggest tournaments outside of Slams and the Tour Finals.

Other great or near greats to be double-bageled:

Tracy Austin twice - once by Evert, once by Graf (the latter during her comeback attempt in the 90s)
Maria Sharapova - 2004 by Lindsey Davenport
Martina Hingis - 1995 by Mary Pierce
Monica Seles - 2000 by Hingis

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

New Career Highs on WTA Top 100, Monday 1st February,

13. Mboko
20. Jovic
28. Joint
34 Boisson
44. Valentova
45 Eala
47 Tjen
53 Jacquemot
66 Jones
61 Marcinko
76 Selekhmetova

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

New WTA Top Ten, Monday 1st February, 2026

1. Sabalenka 10,990
2. Swiatek 7,978
3. Rybakina 7,610 ( +2)
4. Anisimova 6,680
5. Gauff 6,423 (-2)
6. Pegula 6,103
7. Andreeva 4,731
8. Paolini 4,267
9. Bencic 3,342 (+1)
10.Svitolina 3,205 (+2)

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

PIF Race to the WTA Finals ( after AO, Monday 2nd February).

1. Rybakina 2,108
2. Sabalenka 1,800
3. Svitolina 1,030
4. Pegula 975
5. Andreeva 848
6. Mboko 847
7. Jovic 691
8. Bencic 624

9. Swiatek 580
10. Gauff 580

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

WTA1000 Update
Five Top 25 players have withdrawn,
OUT: Pegula, Osaka ( abdominal) Keys ( abductor) Jovic, Kostyuk ( ankle)

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

WTA Top 100 Career Highs, Monday 2nd February,

No 13 Mboko
No 29 Jovic
No 28 Joint
No 44 Valentova
No 45 Eala
No 47 Tjen
No 69 Marcinko
No 76 Selekhmeteva

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Sabalenka has withdrawn from Doha next week, citing a change in schedule. With Sabalenka out Iga Swiatek will be the top seed at the season's first WTA1000 tournament,

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

New WTA Top Ten, Monday 1st February, 2026

1. Sabalenka 10,990
2. Swiatek 7,978
3. Rybakina 7,610 ( +2)
4. Anisimova 6,680
5. Gauff 6,423 (-2)
6. Pegula 6,103
7. Andreeva 4,731
8. Paolini 4,267
9. Bencic 3,342 (+1)
10.Svitolina 3,205 (+2)

History made in the WTA,
Belinda Bencic (9) and Elina Svitolina (10) are the first mothers ranked inside the WTA Top Ten!

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

BTW,
Having a WTA1000 event ( Doha) starting 8 days after the AO final is absolute no sense
Half of the Top 20 will miss the event!
Belinda Bencic has also withdrawn with illness, she was the top seed at the Abu Dhabi WTA500 tournament and had to withdraw due to illness

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Draw for the WTA1000 Doha tournament will be this Friday February 6th at 2pm local time

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Doha WTA1000 Update:
OUT: Veronika Kudermetova
IN: Alexandra Eala

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Venus Williams received a wild card for the ATX Open, Austin
Jelena Ostapenko has received a wild card for the ATX Open, Austin