Overview
- New rankings released after the Australian Open list Belinda Bencic at No. 9 and Elina Svitolina at No. 10, the first concurrent Top-10 placement by two mothers.
- Elina Svitolina rose two spots by reaching the Melbourne semifinals, with wins over Coco Gauff and Mirra Andreeva before falling to Aryna Sabalenka.
- Belinda Bencic returned to the elite tier following a maternity break and leveraged tour provisions during her comeback.
- Both players used the WTA’s Special Ranking Rule for returning mothers, part of a wider Family Focus Program that includes ranking protection, postpartum support and paid maternity leave.
- WTA CEO Portia Archer praised the milestone as validation of reforms, which recently expanded to protect rankings for players who freeze eggs or embryos.