Greg Garber, Senior Writer 9y

Serena Williams carries momentum of Cincinnati title into New York

Order has been restored. After winning the title Sunday in Cincinnati, Serena Williams will be ranked No. 1 for the 256th week of her career heading into next week's U.S. Open.

The rest of the women's game? Well, it's a little bit unsettled. Here's our take on who's up and who's down.

Williams

No. 1 Serena Williams: She's 48-2 on the year, but that comes with an asterisk -- three walkovers when she withdrew from Bastad, Rome and Indian Wells with injuries. Serena took down the WTA's new No. 2, Simona Halep, in the final and is now 15-for-15 in finals -- and 30 for her last 32.


Halep

No. 2 Simona Halep: A good tournament in Cincinnati for the 23-year-old Romanian, Halep is riding some serious momentum after making the finals at both Cincinnati and Toronto; last year, looking spent, she lost her third match in Cincy and fell in the first round at New Haven.


Sharapova

No. 3 Maria Sharapova: The 28-year-old Russian hasn't played a match since Wimbledon because of a right leg injury. When she pulled out of Cincinnati, she admitted it wasn't exactly ideal preparation for the U.S. Open.


Wozniacki

No. 4 Caroline Wozniacki: She's had some tough luck with draws, but Wozniacki managed to lose her first matches in both Toronto (Belinda Bencic) and Cincinnati (Victoria Azarenka). Perhaps she will gain equilibrium playing in New Haven, where she is a four-time champion.


Kvitova

No. 5 Petra Kvitova: The two-time Wimbledon champion is having a dreadful summer. She lost her third match at the All England Club and then went 0-for-2 at the North American events, losing to Azarenkla in Toronto and Caroline Garcia in Cincinnati. She will also play in New Haven.


Bencic

No. 12 Belinda Bencic: Hey, finally someone with a rising trajectory. The 18-year-old from Switzerland beat Serena Williams in the Toronto semifinals before taking down a retiring Halep in the final. Bencic impressively handled Angelique Kerber in her first Cincinnati match, but she eventually lost to French Open finalist Lucie Safarova.


Keys

No. 19 Madison Keys: The product of Rock Island, Illinois, is actually ranked better than her age -- which is still only 20. That's the good news. The bad: After withdrawing from Toronto with a left wrist injury, she lost her second match at Stanford (badly) and also Cincinnati, to Jelena Jankovic. Another New Haven participant.


Azarenka

No. 20 Victoria Azarenka: It's been a long, hard climb for the 26-year-old from Belarus. After a series of injuries left her outside the top 30, she's slowly regaining form. She won two of three matches in both Toronto and Cincinnati and will arrive in New York confident because she's played in two of the previous three finals.


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