As a result of her fairytale run to the National Bank Open final, Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia has risen eight spots in the WTA rankings and broke into the Top 20 for the first time in her career.
Making tournament debut in Toronto, Haddad Maia defeated 2022 French Open semifinalist Martina Trevisan, 2021 US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez, world No.1 Iga Swiatek, Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Belinda Bencic and former world No.1 Karolina Pliskova to become the first Brazilian to reach the final of a WTA 1000 event. In the title match, the 26-year-old was defeated in three sets by two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep, who has now won the National Bank Open in 2016, 2018 and 2022 (the first event the Romanian has won three times).
After playing Toronto on a career-high ranking of No.24, Haddad Maia has risen to a new career-high of No.16, cracking the Top 20 for the first time. She has won 26 matches so far in 2022, and 17 since June, which is second most on the Hologic WTA Tour, behind just Caroline Garcia who has won 20 matches since June.
When it comes to the reigning Toronto champion Simona Halep, the former world No.1 is back into the Top 10 for the first time in over a year, having climbed from No.15 to No.6. With Haddad Maia’s Top 20 debut, one player is out of the elite group — Victoria Azarenka. The Belarusian, now down to No.22 in the WTA rankings, couldn’t play the tournament because her Canadian visa application had not been approved.
Congrats to Bia, the taller version of Belinda Bencic.
So so proud of you, Bia 🇧🇷