Aryna Sabalenka kicks off milestone 80th career week at No. 1 on the WTA rankings

Aryna Sabalenka reaches another career milestone today, as she begins her 80th career week at No. 1 on the WTA rankings.

The four-time major winner is the 11th player to hit that number in WTA rankings history, which dates back to 1975, and just the sixth woman to do it this century after Martina Hingis (who spent 87 of her 209 weeks at No. 1 in the 2000s), Serena Williams (319), Justine Henin (117), Ashleigh Barty (121) and Iga Swiatek (125).

PLAYERS TO REACH 80+ CAREER WEEKS AS WTA NO. 1:

• 377: Steffi Graf
• 332: Martina Navratilova
• 319: Serena Williams
• 260: Chris Evert
• 209: Martina Hingis
• 178: Monica Seles
• 125: Iga Swiatek
• 121: Ashleigh Barty
• 117: Justine Henin
• 98: Lindsay Davenport
• 80: Aryna Sabalenka

And interestingly, despite not playing since the Australian Open, Sabalenka’s lead at No. 1 has grown slightly over the last month—she was 3,012 points ahead of No. 2 Iga Swiatek a month ago (10,990 to 7,978) and is now 3,087 points ahead (10,675 to 7,588).

She'll be safe at the top spot during Indian Wells this year, where she’s defending 650 points for a runner-up finish from last year. But depending on what happens in the desert it could be up for grabs in Miami, where she’s defending the title, and 1,000 points.

Also on the WTA rankings, there are big jumps for the standout players from last week’s WTA events in Merida and Austin.

Cristina Bucsa, who won her first WTA title in Merida, rises from No. 63 to No. 31, shattering her previous career-high ranking of No. 50, while the woman she beat for the WTA 500 title—Magdalena Frech, a former No. 22—rises from No. 57 to No. 36.

American Peyton Stearns, a former No. 28, jumps from No. 62 to No. 48 after winning the second WTA title of her career in Austin, while the woman she beat in the final, countrywoman Taylor Townsend, is in the Top 100 for the first time since last summer, rising from No. 119 to No. 87. Townsend reached the first WTA singles semifinal and final of her career at the WTA 250 event.

And Andorra’s Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva makes her Top 100 debut, rising from No. 122 to No. 97 after a breakthrough week in Merida, where she reached the quarterfinals as a qualifier.

Meanwhile, over on the ATP rankings, the most notable rise comes from Italy’s Flavio Cobolli, who moves up five spots from No. 20 to No. 15 after winning the ATP 500 event in Acapulco, surpassing his previous best of No. 17 to make his Top 15 debut.

Jakub Mensik continues his climb towards the Top 10—he went into the Middle Eastern swing two weeks ago at No. 16, which was his career-high at the time, then rose to No. 13 after a semifinal run in Doha and now to No. 12 after a quarterfinal in Dubai.

Finally, American Patrick Kypson makes his Top 100 debut, rising from No. 103 to No. 95 after a breakthrough week in Acapulco. He ended up falling in the second round, but in the first round he recorded by far the biggest win of his career—his first over a Top 30 player—by upsetting the world No. 6, Alex de Minaur.