The WTA season in 2018 was one of contrasting rankings fortunes for players. On one hand the year was packed full of wonderful surprises – see several first-time Grand Slam champions and heart-warming comebacks – while on the other there were several disappointing, almost inexplicable form slumps.
As a result, the make-up of the year-end rankings changed significantly in the past 12 months. Here are the biggest ranking movers and shakers in 2018…
| Player | 2017* | 2018* | Rise | Notable result |
| Angelique Kerber | 21 | 2 | +19 | Wimbledon (W) |
| Naomi Osaka | 68 | 5 | +65 | US Open (W) |
| Kiki Bertens | 31 | 9 | +22 | Cincinnati (W) |
| Aryna Sabalenka | 78 | 11 | +67 | Wuhan (W) |
| Elise Mertens | 35 | 13 | +22 | Australian Open (SF) |
| Qiang Wang | 45 | 20 | +25 | Guangzhou (W) |
| Mihaela Buzarnescu | 72 | 24 | +48 | San Jose (W) |
| Camila Giorgi | 79 | 26 | +53 | Wimbledon (QF) |
| Su-Wei Hsieh | 96 | 28 | +68 | Hiroshima (W) |
| Danielle Collins | 167 | 36 | +131 | Miami (SF) |
| Belinda Bencic | 165 | 37 | +128 | New Haven (QF) |
| Ajla Tomljanovic | 151 | 43 | +108 | Seoul (F) |
| Victoria Azarenka | 208 | 51 | +157 | Miami (SF) |
| Rebecca Peterson | 196 | 55 | +141 | Cagnes-Sur-Mer (W) |
| Dayana Yastremska | 189 | 60 | +129 | Hong Kong (W) |
| Dalila Jakupovic | 239 | 69 | +170 | Birmingham (QF) |
| Tamara Zidansek | 180 | 70 | +110 | Bol (W) |
| Anastasia Potapova | 237 | 94 | +143 | Moscow River Cup (F) |
| Katie Boulter | 200 | 100 | +100 | Obidos 2 (W) |
* year-end
Angelique Kerber and Naomi Osaka headline a strong list of movers in 2018. With no titles, two first-round Grand Slam exits and a meagre 29-24 record, Kerber had a tough season in 2017. But the German bounced back in terrific fashion by reaching the Australian Open semifinals, last eight at Roland Garros and winning her second Wimbledon trophy.
Osaka had a true breakout season. Starting the year off ranked No.68, she reached the fourth round at the Australian Open, won Indian Wells, won the US Open and qualified for her first WTA Finals.
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The oldest woman in this group is Su-Wei Hsieh at 32 years and the youngest is Anastasia Potapova at 17. There are two women aged 20 or younger, eight women between 20-24, six between 25-29 and three women aged 30 or older. The average age of the key movers is 24, which suggests most players are taking a little bit longer to develop than women in the 1990s and 2000s.
Of the 19 movers, 21% were players enjoying comeback years and 79% were newcomers. Strangely, 21-year-old Belinda Bencic is a comeback player as she achieved a career-high rank of No. 7 in 2016, and 30-year-old Mihaela Buzarnescu, who has spent 85% of her 14-year career ranked outside the top 100, is a newcomer.
| Player | 2017* | 2018* | Drop | Notable result |
| Garbine Muguruza | 2 | 18 | -16 | Monterrey (W) |
| Johanna Konta | 9 | 39 | -30 | Nottingham (F) |
| Venus Williams | 5 | 40 | -35 | Indian Wells (SF) |
| Kristina Mladenovic | 11 | 44 | -33 | St. Petersberg (F) |
| Agnieszka Radwanska | 28 | 75 | -47 | Eastbourne (SF) |
| CoCo Vandeweghe | 10 | 104 | -100 | Stuttgart (F) |
| Lucie Safarova | 30 | 106 | -76 | Mallorca (QF) |
| Svetlana Kuznetsova | 12 | 107 | 95 | Washington DC (W) |
* year-end
With the majority of women in this group aged 27 or above, 25-year-old Garbine Muguruza’s shaky season is all the more baffling. The Spaniard mostly disappointed in Grand Slams and WTA Premier Mandatory tournaments, and her only title was a WTA International in Monterrey. Muguruza falls outside the top 10 for the first time in three years.
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