Świątek’s slip into second place owes to her six-week absence from the WTA tour, having last played an official match on September 5 when she lost to American Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals of the US Open.

The 23-year-old subsequently withdrew from future events, ended her three-year collaboration with coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, and announced her new coach, Belgian Wim Fissette, last Thursday.

Sabalenka now holds a narrow lead of just 41 points. However, there is one last tournament this season, the WTA finals in Saudi Arabia starting on November 2, featuring the top eight players.

To regain the top spot, Świątek needs to win the tournament without Sabalenka reaching the final.

The Pole will defend 1,500 points from her unbeaten run in last year's Finals, while Sabalenka is defending 625 points. If Sabalenka reaches the final, she will secure the year-end No. 1 ranking regardless of Świątek's result.

WTA players ranking as of October 21:

1. (2) Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) 9706 points
2. (1) Iga Świątek (Poland) 9665
3. (3) Coco Gauff (USA) 5963
4. (4) Jessica Pegula (USA) 5785
5. (5) Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan) 5471
6. (6) Jasmine Paolini (Italy) 5144
7. (7) Qinwen Zheng (China) 4480
8. (8) Emma Navarro (USA) 3698
9. (11) Daria Kasatkina (Russia) 3500
10. (10) Beatriz Haddad Maia (Brazil) 3194
...
24. (24) Magdalena Fręch (Poland) 2020
40. (40) Magda Linette (Poland) 1396
171. (175) Maja Chwalińska (Poland) 412
252. (265) Katarzyna Kawa (Poland) 270
306. (303) Gina Feistel (Poland) 197
352. (362) Martyna Kubka (Poland) 172