LONDON — In any other year at Wimbledon, or at any other Grand Slam, Tatjana Maria would have risen some 50 spots in the rankings for her quarterfinal appearance. Her surprise run at the All England Club would have been rewarded with at least 360 points, or even more if she were to win her next match Tuesday.
Her upcoming opponent, Jule Niemeier, also would have experienced a similar and welcome boost up the rankings thanks to her unexpected success.
But even with either Maria or Niemeier advancing to the first major semifinal of their career, neither will reap that benefit. Instead they will toil at around the 100 mark heading into the hard-court portion of the summer due to the WTA and ATP’s joint decision to not award ranking points as a consequence of the tournament’s controversial banning of players from Russia and Belarus.
Make no mistake, some of the top players are feeling it too — even if Novak Djokovic defends his title he will still lose 2,000 points and fall from No. 3 to No. 7 — but the points would have been a potential game-changer for others such as Maria or Niemeier.
The additional points for such players would have meant direct entry into the US Open later this summer, but for now, they potentially still might have to go through three grueling matches to qualify. Harmony Tan, who lost in her fourth-round match Monday to Amanda Anisimova, said she didn’t care about the points at Wimbledon because it’s still “a Grand Slam” but admitted things would have been much easier for her going forward had her efforts been rewarded in the rankings.
“I know for US Open the cut will be really hard, because I only have one tournament before the cut, so I will play an ITF and 60K after Wimbledon,” Tan said Saturday.
In a sport in which ranking spots determine entry to tournaments, as well as seeding and other perks, the loss of points is extremely consequential for a number of players. Here are some of those who could have benefitted most at Wimbledon this year, and an approximation of where they would have jumped in the rankings:
Editor’s note: The ranking estimates for those below are based on current live rankings and independent of all other player results.
Magical moment for Maria 💫
After returning from maternity leave less than a year ago, Tatjana Maria reaches her first Grand Slam QF#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/dCv8QXelTY
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 3, 2022
Tatjana Maria (Germany): Advanced to the quarterfinals
Maria, 34, welcomed her second child in April 2021 and made her return ahead of the US Open last year. Since then she’s been working on rebuilding her ranking — having ended the 2021 season at 279. She is currently ranked No. 103, and would have improved to around No. 55 by reaching the quarterfinals.
Jule Niemeier (Germany): Advanced to the quarterfinals
Playing in just the second major main draw of her career, the 22-year-old entered Wimbledon with a No. 97 ranking and would have risen to around No. 58 by reaching the final eight. Still, she’ll have more than doubled her career prize money ($343,672) with her appearance in the quarters.
David Goffin (Belgium): Advanced to the quarterfinals
Goffin, a 2019 quarterfinalist, was sidelined from Wimbledon in 2021 due to an ankle injury, and later had his season cut short by knee pain, but made his return to competition earlier this season. The 31-year-old missed part of the grass season with a leg injury but has been resurgent at Wimbledon thus far. Entering the tournament ranked No. 58, Goffin would be around No. 36 following the quarterfinals, but instead is expected to drop to around No. 70.
“I need a glass of wine for sure tonight!”
Vintage @NickKyrgios 🍷#Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 pic.twitter.com/PK3NmUqy0n
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 4, 2022
Nick Kyrgios (Australia): Advanced to the quarterfinals
Having skipped the clay-court season and playing what he calls a part-time schedule on tour, Kyrgios doesn’t seem personally motivated by his ranking but still could have used the 360 points he’d have earned by reaching the quarterfinals. He would have improved from No. 40 to approximately No. 30 — and would have had a chance to improve another 10 spots by winning his next match.
Marie Bouzkova (Czech Republic): Advanced to the quarterfinals
Appearing in the first Grand Slam quarterfinals of her career, the 23-year-old stood to gain about 29 ranking spots to improve from No. 66 to No. 37. Her all-time best ranking is No. 46.
Ajla Tomljanovic (Australia): Advanced to the quarterfinals
The 29-year-old reached her first major quarterfinal at Wimbledon in 2021, and then didn’t have much success on the big stages, losing in the third round at the US Open, the first round at the Australian Open and the second round at the French Open. Wimbledon, and yet another quarterfinal run, would have been a massive opportunity for Tomljanovic to not only defend all of her points, but possibly earn even more. Instead she’ll drop from No. 44 into the 70s.
Tim van Rijthoven (Netherlands): Lost in the fourth round
The 25-year-old made his major main draw debut at Wimbledon as a wild card following his first ATP title at the Rosmalen championships last month. Opening play at the All England Club with a career-high ranking of No. 104, van Rijthoven would have risen to approximately No. 73 with his fourth-round run.
Harmony Tan (France): Lost in the fourth round
Playing in her first main draw at the All England Club, Tan became the toast of the tournament after her dramatic three-set victory over Serena Williams in the first round. The 24-year-old went on to record her best career appearance at a major by reaching the fourth round. Her Cinderella run would have taken her from No. 115 to about No. 84. Instead she’ll remain outside of the top 100 and likely having to qualify for the year’s final Grand Slam in New York.
Jason Kubler (Australia): Lost in the fourth round
The former junior No. 1 who has struggled with a hereditary knee condition throughout most of his career had his best major showing at Wimbledon. Ranked No. 99 entering the tournament, and needing qualifying to make the main draw, Kubler would have improved to around No. 70 with his Round-of-16 bid. While he admitted it was “tough” to not get the points, he still had already found a silver living after his loss to Taylor Fritz on Monday.
“Two weeks ago when I was coming to this tournament, I was more than happy to have the prize money up for grabs,” Kubler said. “When I qualified, I was more than happy for it to just be the prize money. Even then I didn’t worry about the points. Yeah, fourth round, it would have been nice, but, you know, at least there is prize money.”
Heather Watson (Great Britain): Lost in the fourth round
The British favorite advanced to her first major Round of 16 at Wimbledon at age 30. Watson would have climbed from No. 109 to about No. 88 — not as substantial as a leap as some others but a helpful rise back into the top 100.
The 20-year-old American had the best Grand Slam of his career before losing to Kyrgios in the fourth round. Currently sitting at No. 56, Nakashima would have jumped to a new best ranking of approximately No. 35. But he said he was happy about what he was able to achieve in the absence of points.
“I think it’s just going to help my confidence out there knowing that I was able to make a good run here even without the ranking points,” Nakashima said Monday.