Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk becomes national leader in Women's Tennis Association

Marta Kostyuk joined the elite company of tennis players (Getty Images)

Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk has updated her record and become the national leader in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) rankings, according to the official website of the organization.

The 21-year-old Ukrainian climbed to 17th place in the professional rankings. She surpassed the strongest domestic tennis player in history, Elina Svitolina, who dropped to 21st position.

Kostyuk has updated her personal record. Until now, the young athlete had never been so high in the WTA rankings. Moreover, she achieved the second-best result in Ukrainian tennis history. In the fall of 2017, Svitolina was ranked third.

Three more Ukrainians entered the top hundred. Dayana Yastremska moved up five positions to 27th place, while Angelina Kalinina climbed two spots to 46th. Meanwhile, the experienced Lesia Tsurenko lost 14 positions and fell to 59th place.

Iga Swiatek remains the undisputed leader of the WTA rankings. The Pole has accumulated 11,695 ranking points. Meanwhile, American Cori Gauff overtook Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the battle for the second position. Sensational French Open finalist Jasmine Paolini soared to 7th place.

Notably, Swiatek earlier defeated Paolini in the women's French Open final.