Aryna Sabalenka has World No.2 fate in her own hands as Madrid Open permetations confirmed

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The impressive victory ofĀ Aryna SabalenkaĀ overĀ Danielle CollinsĀ (4-6, 6-4, 6-3) at the Madrid Open andĀ Coco Gauff‘s early exit against Madison Keys (6-7, 6-4, 4-6) means that the Belarusian depends on herself to maintain the world No. 2 ranking.
The 2-timesĀ Australian OpenĀ champion is the defending champion in Madrid, so she is defending 1,000 points this week, unlike Coco Gauff, who only defended 45 points for reaching the Round of 32 a year ago. The American started the week as No. 2 in the live rankings, just behindĀ Iga SwiatekĀ and awaiting the conclusion of theĀ Madrid Open.
An early defeat for Sabalenka would have immediately meant her descent to world No. 3, or even No. 4 depending on the results ofĀ Elena Rybakina, who has narrowed the points difference with the top 3 after winning three titles so far this year.
Currently, Coco Gauff has 7,313 points in the live ranking and cannot earn more points this week due to her elimination. Then there is Sabalenka with 7,063 guaranteed points after reaching the quarterfinals, and if she advances past her match againstĀ Mirra Andreeva, she will reach 7,238 points.

Thus, Sabalenka needs to at least reach the final to guarantee her position as world No. 2, as she would reach 7,498 points, surpassing Gauff and distancing herself enough from Rybakina.

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