MOSCOW, February 9. /TASS/. Russia’s Yekaterina Alexandrova moved up a spot and entered the Top-10 of the new WTA (Women's Tennis Association) Rankings list published on Monday.

Last week at the 2026 Abu Dhabi Open, playing as the second seed under a neutral status, the Russian reached the tournament’s final, where she fell to unseeded Sara Bejlek of the Czech Republic 6-7 (5-7); 1-6.

There are now two players from Russia in the WTA Top-10, with Alexandrova rounding out the list with 3,200 points and her compatriot Mirra Andreeva remaining in 7th place with 4,731 points.

This week’s WTA Top-10 is as follows: 1st Aryna Sabalenka (a Belarusian player competing under a neutral status; 10,990 points); 2nd Iga Swiatek (Poland; 7,978 points); 3rd Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan; 7,523 points); 4th Amanda Anisimova (the United States; 6,680 points); 5th Coco Gauff (the United States; 6,423 points); 6th Jessica Pegula (the United States; 6,103 points); 7th Mirra Andreeva (a Russian player competing under a neutral status; 4,731 points); 8th Jasmine Paolini (Italy; 4,267 points); 9th Elina Svitolina (Ukraine, 3,205 points) and 10th Yekaterina Alexandrova (a Russian player competing under a neutral status; 3,200 points).

Alexandrova, 31, is a five-time WTA champion, also making it to four Grand Slam quarterfinals.

Andreeva, 18, is a four-time WTA champion. She is currently Russia's top-ranked female player at 7th place in the WTA Rankings. Her best finish at Grand Slams was at the 2024 French Open when she reached the semifinals. In 2023, the WTA named Andreeva the rookie of the year. Playing at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, she won a silver medal in women’s doubles paired with Diana Shnaider.

The 2026 Abu Dhabi Open is a professional women's tennis tournament that is classified as a WTA 500 event. It was played on outdoor hard courts at the Zayed Sports City International Tennis Centre in Abu Dhabi on February 1-7, 2026. This was the fourth edition of the tournament.

Russian and Belarusian players’ neutral status at tennis tournaments

On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments, citing Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.

Following the IOC's recommendations in late February 2022, the majority of global sports federations moved to exclude athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) ruled on March 1, 2022, to suspend the membership of the Russian and Belarusian national tennis federations while also canceling all previously scheduled tennis tournaments in the two countries.

On March 14, 2022, the ITF also confirmed its prohibition on the Russian and Belarusian national tennis teams from participating in the 2022 Davis Cup and the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup.