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The organizers had decided to freeze the WTA rankings during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to avoid complications due to the cancellation of tournaments. But now that tennis is back, with the 2020 Palermo Open getting over yesterday, the WTA rankings are back live.
The likes of Petra Martic, Fiona Ferro and Camila Giorgi all made big gains on the back of their solid performances in Palermo. On that note, here is a look at the biggest WTA rankings movers this week:
Camila Giorgi (+18: 89 to 71)
Camila Giorgi, a former top 50 regular, had fallen down the WTA rankings following months of inconsistent results. However, she gave the Italian fans a lot to cheer this week in Palermo.
Giorgi's semifinal run at the tournament has seen her rise sharply in the rankings, gaining 18 spots to be at the cusp of the top 70.
Aliaksandra Sasnovich (+15: 119 to 104)
Another player who had seen a dip in her ranking was Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich. The former World No. 30 had dropped out of the top 100 at the end of last year, but that is set to change.
Sasnovich came through qualifiers in Palermo and registered statement wins over higher ranked opponents. And while she lost to the top seed Petra Martic in the quarterfinals, she will see her ranking go up 15 places to No. 104.
Fiona Ferro (+9: 53 to 44)
Making her top 50 debut is young Frenchwoman Fiona Ferro, who won the title in Palermo.
Ferro scored big wins over Ekaterina Alexandrova and home favourites Camila Giorgi and Sara Errani last week. At 44, she is now the second-highest player from France in the WTA rankings, just two places behind Kristina Mladenovic.
Other movers in the WTA rankings
The top seed in Palermo, Petra Martic, is also set to regain her career-high ranking of No. 14 despite losing out in the semifinals. Estonia's Annett Kontaveit, who incidentally beat Martic in the last four, will also rise two places to get to No. 20
Others climbing up the ladder following a successful week in Palermo include Germany's Laura Seigemund (65 to 63), Slovenian Kaja Juvan (121 to 110) and Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk (141 to 136).
