Serena Williams has officially returned to the top of the tennis rankings – despite confirming that she will not play again in 2017.
Thanks to a quirk of the rankings system, Angelique Kerber surrenders the 470 points she won at Stuttgart in 2016, giving Serena an 85 point lead at the top of women’s tennis.
The confirmation of Serena’s return to the top caps off yet another remarkable week in the career of the the American, who confirmed that she is 20 weeks pregnant and will not play again in 2017. Serena once again becomes the oldest No.1 in the history of the sport (35 years, 7 months), and will record her 317th week as world No.1.
In the men’s game, Rafael Nadal returned to the Top 5 with his win in Monte Carlo. The Spaniard, who recorded his 50th clay court win, moved to within 1,000 points of Roger Federer in fourth position.
Despite his poor showing in Monte Carlo, Andy Murray (11,690 points) maintained his healthy lead over world No.2 Novak Djokovic (8,085). Murray will play in Barcelona this week as he attempts to come back from injury.
David Goffin’s run to the semifinals was enough to push Jo-Wilfried Tsonga out of the Top 10, while Monte Carlo finalist Albert Ramos-Vinolas made his debut in the world’s Top 20, moving up five spots to No.19.
WTA and ATP Top 10 rankings:
| Points | Player | Ranking | Player | Points |
| 7010 | Serena Williams | 1 | Andy Murray | 11,690 |
| 6925 | Angelique Kerber | 2 | Novak Djokovic | 8,085 |
| 6020 | Karolina Pliskova | 3 | Stan Wawrinka | 5,695 |
| 5065 | Dominika Cibulkova | 4 | Roger Federer | 5,125 |
| 5021 | Simona Halep | 5 | Rafael Nadal | 4,235 |
| 4691 | Garbine Muguruza | 6 | Milos Raonic | 4,165 |
| 4330 | Johanna Konta | 7 | Kei Nishikori | 4,010 |
| 4205 | Agnieszka Radwanska | 8 | Marin Cilic | 3,565 |
| 4025 | Svetlana Kuznetsova | 9 | Dominic Thiem | 3,385 |
| 3857 | Madison Keys | 10 | David Goffin | 2,975 |
22 September 2017
In the heat and humidity of the recent US Open series, there was a slow-mo nod to a long-r... More
30 December 2019
Nick Kyrgios’ first-round win over Andrey Rublev at last year’s Kremlin Cup in Moscow ... More
24 February 2017
It is no coincidence that some of the best singles players to ever pick up a racquet all h... More
7 November 2016
Double Wimbledon champion, double Olympic champion and now world No.1. But what doesn't An... More
© 2024 Tennis Australia