Ranking - Sabalenka becomes world number 1 thanks to a penalty!
![Ranking - Sabalenka becomes world number 1 thanks to a penalty!](https://cdn.tennistemple.com/images/upload/bank/CJEJ.jpg)
On Monday, Aryna Sabalenka officially became world number one once again.
The announcement came as a surprise to many followers, as Iga Swiatek still held a very slight lead over her runner-up (59 points).
In fact, the reason for the change of queen of the WTA rankings is not only the Belarusian's excellent run of results. It is also due to a penalty imposed by the WTA on both players.
As it happens, the rules of the women's tour stipulate that players are obliged to take part in 6 WTA 500 events per year.
However, Swiatek has only played two and Sabalenka four.
As a result, they both lost points for their worst performance of the year. For Swiatek, it was the last 16 in Miami (-120 points), but for her rival, it was only the second round in Dubai (-10 points).
The result: Aryna Sabalenka is now number one in the world, 41 points ahead of Iga Swiatek.