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Emma Raducanu's rise up the WTA Rankings took an unwanted detour after her third-round elimination at the US Open.
The British No 1 is closing in on a return to the top 30 of the WTA Rankings and if she holds on to that position heading into 2026, she will be on course to secure a seeding in the Australian Open.
Yet her crushing defeat against Elena Rybakina left Raducanu fearing she still had a lot of work to do to compete with the very best players in the women's game.
"When the very top play against me, they have a point to prove that they're at the top, and they're there for a reason," said the 2021 US Open champion.
"While I'm improving, doing better, gaining maybe some more respect around, the top have definitely raised their game. Every time I've played one, they've kind of shown that.
"I'll take that as a compliment that they've decided to really lock in against me, but at the same time it does show I have a lot more work to do."
"It's going to be important to just look at the last few months as a whole and the improvements that I'm making, because a match like that can easily kind of get you down if you let it. I'm going to try not to do that, regroup and just work hard."
Raducanu will need a handful of wins in the upcoming Asian swing on the WTA Tour to get herself into a seeded position for the Australian Open, with the level of tennis she was producing prior to the Rybakina defeat suggesting she is climbing the ladder to the top once again.
Her place in the tennis pecking order may be better reflected in the UTR Rankings, which use a calculation that reflects current form rather than the rolling 52-week ranking used by the WTA Tour.
The UTR Rankings are based on the current form from the last few weeks and months rather than reflecting results that occurred up to a year ago, with the system created to promote fair and competitive play across the tennis world.
All players, regardless of age, gender, geography, or skill level, are rated on the same scale between 1.00 and 16.50 based on actual match results.
The UTR Ranking is open to players of all levels of the game, and the algorithm used provides an intriguing insight into the current form of the top players in the game.
Victories against higher-ranked players are worth more in the UTR list than the official ATP or WTA Ranking, meaning they offer a more accurate reflection of the current form at the top of the game.
Raducanu had broken into the top 10 of the UTR Rankings and was sitting in ninth position after two comfortable wins in the opening rounds at the US Open, but she has slipped down to No 11 following the Rybakina match.
The rankings are likely to change again following Coco Gauff's defeat against Naomi Osaka at the US Open, with Gauff currently holding top spot in the rankings ahead of Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka ahead of the next update.
