Rankings watch: Noskova makes Top 20 debut, Lys cracks Top 50

Last week, the Asian swing moved into full gear on the Hologic WTA Tour with the conclusion of the China Open, the ninth WTA 1000 event of the season.

Amanda Anisimova continued her banner year with her second WTA 1000 title -- sealing her qualification for the WTA Finals Riyadh in the process -- and the American holds steady at No. 4 in the latest edition of the PIF WTA Rankings.

Runner-up Linda Noskova enjoyed a breakthrough, saving three match points in the semifinals against Jessica Pegula to reach her first WTA 1000 final (and fifth overall). The 20-year-old Czech -- who also reached the 2024 Australian Open quarterfinals, upsetting Iga Swiatek along the way -- enters the Top 20 for the first time, climbing 10 places from No. 27 to No. 17.

Noskova is the youngest player in the Top 20, and the second-highest ranked 2004-born player behind Coco Gauff (taking over from Diana Shnaider on both counts). She is the fourth player this year to break the Top 20 for the first time, following Yulia Putintseva, Anisimova and Clara Tauson.

Beijing also marked a milestone week for Germany's Eva Lys. The 23-year-old scored her first Top 10 win at the ninth attempt, upsetting Elena Rybakina in the third round and going on to make her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal. Lys started 2025 ranked No. 129 and entered the Top 100 after reaching the Australian Open last 16 as a lucky loser. She cracks the Top 50 this week, jumping 21 places from No. 66 to No. 45.

Lys was one of two unseeded Beijing quarterfinalists alongside Sonay Kartal, who also notched her first career Top 10 win, over Mirra Andreeva in the fourth round. The 23-year-old Kartal, who also made the last 16 of Indian Wells and Wimbledon this year, bounced up 21 places from No. 81 to No. 60.

Hon, Waltert, Tjen make Top 100 debuts

Three players entered the Top 100 for the first time this week, taking the total so far to 24 in 2025.

In July, Priscilla Hon was in Anisimova's player box to watch her compete in the Wimbledon final. The Australian was ranked No. 129, nearly seven years removed from the career high of No. 118 she set in October 2018. Hon, 27, has been putting together her own breakthrough over the past two months, though.

She qualified and reached the third round of the US Open -- a career-best Grand Slam performance -- and she repeated the feat in Beijing with an upset against Jelena Ostapenko. Hon climbs 13 places from No. 108 to No. 95.

Simona Waltert first approached the Top 100 in 2023, climbing to No. 107 in June after reaching the second round of Roland Garros as a qualifier. But by July 2024, she'd fallen to No. 249. This year, Waltert has been rebuilding. After reaching her first WTA 125 final three weeks ago in Ljubljana, the 24-year-old captured the Lisbon ITF W100 title, then made the Rende WTA 125 quarterfinals last week. She leaps 18 spots from No. 116 to No. 98.

Pepperdine University graduate Janice Tjen built buzz with a strong ITF record, then qualified for the US Open last month to make her tour-level debut. Tjen has kept going, reaching the Sao Paulo final in her second WTA main draw and then qualifying for Beijing. Tjen rises three places to No. 99, becoming the sixth Indonesian player to break the Top 100 in WTA rankings history (following Lany Kaligis, Yayuk Basuki, Romana Tedjakusuma, Wynne Prakusya and Angelique Widjaja).

Other notable rankings movements

Emma Navarro, +3 to No. 14: Navarro upset Swiatek in the Beijing fourth round to notch her first Top 5 win since the 2024 US Open, advancing to her first quarterfinal at WTA 1000 level or above since the Australian Open.

McCartney Kessler, +6 to No. 33: Kessler reached the fourth round of a WTA 1000 event for the second time in Beijing (following Montreal in August).

Marie Bouzkova, +11 to No. 41: Bouzkova also made the Beijing fourth round -- her deepest run at a WTA 1000 event since reaching the 2023 Cincinnati quarterfinals.

Viktorija Golubic, +6 to No. 64: The Swiss player won last week's Suzhou WTA 125 event -- her first singles title since ending 2024 with a winning streak that encompassed the Jiujiang WTA 250 and Limoges WTA 125 tournaments.

Katie Volynets, +10 to No. 97: Former No. 56 Volynets returns to the Top 100 for the first time since July after reaching the Suzhou WTA 125 final.

Sara Bejlek, +10 to No. 107: The Czech 19-year-old hits a new career high after lifting her second WTA 125 trophy of the year in Rende last week.

Kaja Juvan, +20 to No. 108: Unranked at the start of February as she returned from a 13-month injury hiatus, former No. 58 Juvan won the Samsun WTA 125 title last week -- her second trophy at that level in the past month.

Aliaksandra Sasnovich, +16 to No. 114: Former No. 29 Sasnovich upset former Beijing champion Naomi Osaka en route to this year's third round -- her first Top 20 win in 17 months, and first in five meetings with Osaka.

Lulu Sun, +19 to No. 127: Sun, the 2024 Wimbledon quarterfinalist, fell from her career high of No. 39 last September to No. 164 in August. The 24-year-old Swiss player is on the rebound now, lifting her first WTA 125 trophy two weeks ago in Jingshan.

Nikola Bartunkova, +10 to No. 134: Fresh off her WTA semifinal debut in Guadalajara, Bartunkova continued her strong form to reach her first WTA 125 final in Samsun last week. The 19-year-old Czech is up to another new career high.

Alina Korneeva, +27 to No. 164: Former junior No. 1 Korneeva has won 20 of her last 21 matches, and three of her past four tournaments. The 18-year-old was the champion at last week's Bratislava ITF W75.

Emerson Jones, +11 to No. 166: Jones was runner-up at last week's Rancho Santa Fe ITF W50, and moves to a new career high. The 17-year-old Australian's run included a quarterfinal victory over Julieta Pareja, her successor as junior No. 1 this year.

Nao Hibino, +32 to No. 168: Three-time WTA titlist Hibino was the champion at the Incheon ITF W100 two weeks ago.

Ma Ye-Xin, +36 to No. 198: Ma, 26, reached her first WTA 125 final in Jingshan two weeks ago. The Chinese player, whose career high is No. 177, returns to the Top 200 for the first time since last March.

Anastasija Sevastova, +21 to No. 200: Unranked in April as she returned from maternity leave and an ACL injury, former No. 11 Sevastova reached the second round of Beijing last week. The 35-year-old returns to the Top 200 for the first time since May 2022.

Camilla Rosatello, +66 to No. 201: At the age of 30, Italy's Rosatello won her first ITF W75 title in Bucharest last week, and soars to a new career high.

Olivia Gadecki, +61 to No. 233: Former No. 83 and 2024 Guadalajara runner-up Gadecki is starting to rebuild her ranking. The 23-year-old Australian claimed the Rancho Santa Fe ITF W50 title last week.

Laura Samson, +47 to No. 273: The Czech 17-year-old won the Pazardzhik ITF W50 title two weeks ago -- her second ITF trophy of the year. Samson was a semifinalist at Prague 2024 on her tour-level debut.

Kayla Day, +50 to No. 292: Former No. 84 Day won the Templeton ITF W75 two weeks ago -- the American's biggest title since returning from ankle surgery in April.

Lee Eunhye, +56 to No. 299: The South Korean 25-year-old is up to a new career high after reaching her first ITF W100 final in Incheon two weeks ago.

Elena Ruxandra Bertea, +59 to No. 329: On home soil, the 19-year-old Romanian reached her first ITF W75 final in Bucharest last week.

Mia Pohankova, +62 to No. 394: Playing her first professional tournament since winning the junior Wimbledon title, 16-year-old Slovak Pohankova made the Bratislava ITF W75 semifinals last week, and enters the Top 400 for the first time.

Lucie Havlickova, +180 to No. 473: Former junior No. 1 Havlickova, who was unranked in July after a 12-month hiatus from the game, was the runner-up at the Bratislava ITF W75 last week. The 20-year-old Czech hit her career high of No. 196 in July 2023.