Just one tour-level tournament took place last week: the Abierto GNP Seguros, a WTA 500 event in Monterrey, Mexico. Unseeded Frenchwoman Diane Parry won her first WTA title, becoming the eighth first-time champion of 2026 and the fourth at WTA 500 level after Sara Bejlek in Abu Dhabi, Cristina Bucsa in Merida and Alexandra Eala in Washington.
Parry is also the second player with a one-handed backhand to win a WTA title this season, joining Lilli Tagger, who triumphed in Prague last month.
The Monterrey title extends Parry’s strong run of form since her victory at the Paris WTA 125 in May. She was 9-11 in 2026 before that tournament but has gone 21-8 since, including seven wins over Top 30 opponents during the past four months. Two of those victories came in Monterrey. Before this stretch, Parry had recorded only five Top 30 wins in her career.
After returning to the Top 50 last week following a fourth-round appearance in Cincinnati, Parry climbed 19 places from No. 50 to a career-high No. 31 in the latest rankings.
Three of Monterrey’s four semifinalists also achieved new career highs. Ann Li moved up two places from No. 30 to No. 28, while Nikola Bartunkova rose four spots from No. 38 to No. 34. Runner-up Elise Mertens returned to the Top 20 for the first time since April, climbing from No. 24 to No. 20 after reaching her third WTA 500 final and 17th tour-level final overall.
Volynets and Valentova rise after WTA 125 final
A WTA 125 tournament was also held on hard courts in Philadelphia last week, where Katie Volynets won the title without dropping a set. It was the American’s second career WTA 125 crown, following her 2024 victory in Makarska, and her first on hard courts. Volynets rose 13 places from No. 91 to No. 78.
Volynets defeated Czech teenager Tereza Valentova 6-3, 7-5 in the final. It was Valentova’s second WTA 125 runner-up finish of the year, following Saint-Malo in May. The 19-year-old returned to the Top 50, climbing seven spots from No. 57 to No. 50.
Other notable WTA rankings movements
- Yuliia Starodubtseva, +16 to No. 58: The Charleston finalist reached her second WTA 500 quarterfinal of the year in Monterrey and is now five places behind the career-high No. 53 ranking she set in April.
- Darja Vidmanova, +15 to No. 75: The Memphis finalist qualified for Monterrey and reached her first WTA 500 quarterfinal, moving to a new career high.
- Barbora Palicova, +39 to No. 200: The 22-year-old Czech had an 11-20 record in 2026 through mid-July but has since gone 14-1, winning the Hechingen W75, reaching the Koksijde W75 final and claiming the Bytom W75 title last week. The former No. 171 returned to the Top 200 for the first time since last October.
- Samira De Stefano, +30 to No. 250: The 22-year-old Italian won her first career W50 title in Kursumlijska Banja last week and climbed to a new career high.
- Nastasja Schunk, +50 to No. 315: Germany’s 2021 Wimbledon junior finalist won her second W50 title of the season in Oldenzaal last week.
- Valentini Grammatikopoulou, +87 to No. 470: The former No. 143 returned to competition in May after a back injury kept her sidelined for seven months. The 29-year-old Greek won the Verbier W35 title two weeks ago.
- Denisa Zoldakova, +160 to No. 482: The 18-year-old Czech, an Australian Open girls’ doubles finalist, qualified for the Bytom W75 and reached her first final at that level last week. She made her Top 500 debut as a result.
- Ariana Geerlings, +315 to No. 589: The 20-year-old Spaniard first broke into the Top 300 last July after qualifying for her first WTA main draw in Hamburg and reaching the Maspalomas W100 quarterfinals, where she suffered an ACL injury that ruled her out for the next 11 months. Geerlings returned in July and lost her opening match before winning 19 consecutive matches and three straight tournaments: two Kursumlijska Banja W15 events and the Krakow W35 as a qualifier. Justina Mikulskyte ended her winning streak in the Bytom W75 quarterfinals last week.
Source: www.wtatennis.com
