Emma Raducanu rises up tennis world rankings as Naomi Osaka falls more than 70 places

Emma Raducanu has risen to number 13 in the world tennis rankings as Naomi Osaka fell 71 places to 85th.

The WTA rankings were updated today following the conclusion of the Australian Open this weekend.

Ashleigh Barty stormed to victory in front of a home crowd, defeating Danielle Collins 6-3, 7-6 to win her third Grand Slam title and her first at the Rod Laver Arena.

Unsurprisingly, the 25-year-old has remained at the top of the world rankings. She has now been world number one for an impressive 106 consecutive weeks.

Collins rocketed up the standings after reaching her first Grand Slam final. Having entered the Australian Open as world number 30, the American now sits at number 10.

Raducanu has also risen up the rankings, moving from world number 18 to a career high of 13th.

This is despite a second round exit at the Australian Open – Raducanu was hampered by a painful blister for the majority of her match against Danka Kovinić of Montenegro.

It would have been thought that the early exit would have seen the British star fall down the rankings, but she has been helped by the early losses of players around her.

For example, Osaka, who crashed out of the Australian Open in the third round, has plummeted down the standings to 85th as a large amount of her points from last year dropped off.

Raducanu only started on the WTA Tour in June, however, and subsequently has no points from the first half of 2021 to defend.

This means she will likely continue to rise up the rankings in the coming months, regardless of whether she wins a WTA title or not.

Raducanu was competing in only the third Grand Slam of her career at the Australian Open, four months after her improbable victory at the US Open in September.

The 19-year-old