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This content was machine-translated from the French version.
The publication of the WTA ranking on Monday, July 20, 2026, confirms a week of stability at the top, but holds a major shake-up in the depths of the standings. Loïs Boisson, one of the most promising French players on the tour, has just experienced the heaviest fall of her career: 136 places lost in a single week, dropping her from 158th to 294th in the world. Behind this plunge lies a season marred by injuries and the impossibility of defending the points from her title in Hamburg.
The World Top 10 at a Standstill
Aryna Sabalenka still sits at the top with 8,550 points, ahead of Elena Rybakina (8,143) and Jessica Pegula (6,301).
The summit of women's tennis has not moved an inch this week. Aryna Sabalenka still sits at the top with 8,550 points, ahead of Elena Rybakina (8,143) and Jessica Pegula (6,301). Coco Gauff remains fourth, followed by Mirra Andreeva, Karolina Muchova, and Linda Noskova, freshly crowned at Wimbledon. Iga Swiatek, eighth with 4,539 points, remains far from the standards that carried her to the top of the rankings for 125 weeks. The tightest battle is at the edge of the Top 10: Amanda Anisimova, ninth, holds only a two-point lead over Elina Svitolina.
Loïs Boisson, an Expected Fall
The 23-year-old from Dijon now has only 238 points to her name. The reason is clear: having withdrawn from the WTA 250 in Hamburg due to a persistent left knee injury sustained at Wimbledon, she was unable to defend the 250 points earned a year earlier. In July 2025, Boisson had lifted the German trophy by defeating Anna Bondar in the final, a first WTA title that propelled her into the Top 50.
Twelve months later, the picture is radically different. Thigh, forearm, calf, then knee twice: the list of physical setbacks that have marked her 2026 season is dizzying. Not to mention the changes in her coaching staff, which have not helped stabilize her results. A direct consequence of this fall: Boisson will now have to go through qualifying or seek wildcards to access the main draws of the tour. She is expected to use a protected ranking to approach the American swing, with Cincinnati as her first comeback target. The player from Dijon can also request this system for the US Open, where direct entry into the main draw would otherwise be out of reach.
French Players in Difficulty
Beyond the Boisson case, French women's tennis is going through a turbulent period. Diane Parry remains the French number one but drops five places to 60th in the world with 1,011 points. Varvara Gracheva, 99th, is the only other representative in the Top 100. Elsa Jacquemot gains three spots to rise to 104th, while Léolia Jeanjean slips to 112th. This record contrasts with the depth of the men's contingent and highlights the fragility of the French next generation.
This Week's Risers
The rankings have not only brought misfortune. Barbora Krejcikova makes the biggest jump among the top names: victorious at the WTA 250 in Athens against Maria Sakkari in two sets (7-6, 6-3), the Czech rises six places to return to 26th in the world with 1,679 points. This is her ninth singles title on the tour, her first since her triumph at Wimbledon in 2024. Sakkari, beaten for the fourth time in as many meetings against Krejcikova, still climbs four places to reach 33rd.
Further down the rankings, Mayar Sherif makes the biggest gain in the Top 100 by moving up 24 places to settle at 73rd, while Paula Badosa, the former world number 2, advances 22 spots and returns to the Top 100 at 93rd. The two players are set to face each other in the final of the WTA 250 in Iasi, rescheduled for Monday after the torrential rains that hit the Romanian city on Sunday. Badosa will approach this match with a nine-match winning streak, having won the WTA 125 tournament in Bastad the previous week.
The road is still long for Loïs Boisson, but at 23, time is not yet against her. The question is not whether the player from Dijon can climb back up, but at what pace her body will allow her to string together weeks without new setbacks. The American tour, with her protected ranking in hand, will offer her a first real test.
