The fact that Serena Williams is once again making headlines this week is not because of the outcome of a match, although she has not competed on a court in years. The last time her name appeared on this ranking list was in 2022.

Tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg posted on X, "Serena Williams has returned to the WTA rankings today, at least on the doubles charts, re-debuting at 593rd. Amusingly, she's tied at 593rd with another very notable name."

Aryna Sabalenka, the current No. 1 in the world in singles, was that famous name. Williams and Victoria Mboko advanced to the quarterfinals of the Queen's Club tournament, Williams's first tournament since September 2022, and Williams earned points for their team.

Williams will continue her comeback next week at the Berlin Open, replacing Mboko, who is out with an injury, when she pairs up with Karolina Muchova.

Speaking at a press conference in Berlin on Saturday, Muchova said about the pairing, "I'm pretty excited about it. It doesn't happen every day that such an amazing athlete, not only in tennis but overall in sport, asks you to play tennis with her. I hope it's going to be fun."

Muchova's zeal mirrors her own status in the field. The Czech player has advanced to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon twice and is currently ranked tenth in the world.

On the other hand, Mboko could not compete in any of the remaining grass tournaments, including Wimbledon, because of an injury to the MCL.

Aside from Williams, several other players grabbed attention from the rankings this week.

Other Notable Rankings Movements Beyond Serena Williams

Katie Boulter had a remarkable week on home soil, climbing 17 spots to No. 56 after she stunned Elena Rybakina to advance to the semifinals of the Queen's Club.

This victory was Boulter's first ‌career against a player ranked in the top three. Her three appearances in tour-level semifinals have all been on grass.

Being a lucky loser at Queen's, Kamilla Rakhimova took full advantage of the situation. The Uzbekistani advanced to the WTA 500 quarterfinals for the second time in her career, replacing Belinda Bencic in the main draw.

As a result, she rose thirteen spots to No. 65. The 60th spot she achieved in December 2024 was her career best, and she is now just five spots shy of that mark.

The Ukrainian Daria Snigur reached a new career high by making it to her second tour-level quarterfinal of 2026 in's-Hertogenbosch, propelling her 9 spots up the rankings to No. 75.

After making it to the semifinals at Ilkley, Darja Vidmanova jumped 11 spots to No. 108, and after winning the top-seeded professional grass event in Hurghada, Egypt, Polina Iatcenko jumped 9 spots to No. 155.

Which of these rising stars are you watching most closely this grass season? Comment down below.

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Written by

Utsav Gupta

Edited by

Utsav Gupta