Five Women Have Opportunity To Reach WTA Top Spot;
Nadal or Federer Will Regain ATP World Tour No. 1 Ranking

CINCINNATI  —  Five women have a chance to hold the WTA’s No. 1 ranking after this week’s Western & Southern Open, while either Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer will return to No. 1 on the ATP World Tour when the tournament concludes at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.

The results from the upcoming week will be reflected when the tours release their first post-tournament rankings on Monday, Aug. 21.

WTA
Western & Southern Open defending champion Karolina Pliskova currently holds the WTA No. 1 ranking. However, the 900 points from her 2016 title will come off her ranking on August 21, which gives four players an opportunity to pass her based on her result this week.

Here are the five players who could be No. 1 at the end of the tournament:

Pliskova will enter the week with, in essence, a 240 point lead in the rankings when you factor in the 900 points that will come off her ranking next week. She first became No. 1 on July 17
No. 2 Simona Halep is looking to be ranked No. 1 for the first time
No. 3 Angelique Kerber is looking to get back to No. 1, having lost that ranking following Wimbledon after 34 weeks in the top spot
No. 4 Elina Svitolina is looking to reach No. 1 for the first time 
No. 5 Caroline Wozniacki has been ranked No. 1 for 67 weeks in her career. She is looking to return to the top spot for the first time since Jan. 29, 2012

Pliskova can retain No. 1 in the following scenarios:

Winning the title
Reaching the semifinals as long as Halep does not win title
Reaching the quarterfinals as long as Halep does not reach final or Svitolina does not win title
Reaching the third round as long as Halep does not reach semifinal or Svitolina does not win title
With a loss in her first match as long as Halep does not reach semifinal, Svitolina does not reach final and neither Kerber nor Wozniacki win title

Halep can become No. 1 for the first time in the following scenarios:

Winning the title
Reaching the final as long as Pliskova does not reach semifinals
Reaching the semifinals as long as Pliskova does not reach semifinals and Svitolina does not win title

Svitolina can become No. 1 for the first time in the following scenarios:

Winning the title as long as Pliskova does not reach semifinals
Reaching the final as long as Pliskova loses her first match, Halep does not reach semifinals and Wozniacki does not win title

Kerber can regain No. 1 only by winning the title as long as Pliskova loses her first match and Halep does not reach semifinals.

Wozniacki can regain No. 1 only by winning the title as long as Pliskova loses her first match and Halep does not reach semifinals.

ATP World Tour

Andy Murray’s withdrawal from the Western & Southern Open will see him lose the No. 1 ranking for the first time since Nov. 7, 2016, ending a run of 41 weeks in the top spot. Nadal, who has spent 141 weeks at the top of the rankings, is looking to return to No. 1 for the first time since July 6, 2014. Federer, who has spent 302 weeks at No. 1, is looking to return to that position for the first time since Nov. 4, 2012.

Should Nadal and Federer, the top two seeds, advance all the way, their meeting in the Aug. 20 final would not only determine the Western& Southern Open champion but also the ATP World Tour No. 1 ranking.

Nadal holds a 410 point lead over Federer heading into the tournament, though Nadal has 90 points to defend from the 2016 tournament. Federer would need to at least reach the semifinals to have a chance to overtake Nadal in the rankings.

Nadal would return to the No. 1 ranking in the following scenarios:

Winning the title
Reaching the final as long as Federer does not win title
Reaching the semifinals as long as Federer does not win title
Reaching the quarterfinals as long as Federer does not reach final
Reaching the third round as long as Federer does not reach final
With loss in first match as long as Federer does not reach semifinals

Federer would return to the No. 1 ranking in the following scenarios:

Winning the title
Reaching the final as long as Nadal does not reach semifinals
Reaching the semifinals as long as Nadal does not win a match