Coco Gauff Rises and Novak Djokovic Falls in Rankings Updates

Much to our chagrin, the Sunshine Swing is over. The silver lining is that means clay court season is officially here. But the back-to-back Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami had major implications for the world's top players.

Coco Gauff moved up one spot in the WTA Rankings, while Novak Djokovic fell one spot in the ATP Rankings. Below is a detailed breakdown of what happened for each player and how it could impact their spring season.

Coco Gauff Jumps One Spot

Coco Gauff holds a trophy after the Miami Open final. — Coco Gauff lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the Miami Open final. | IMAGO / Latin Sport Images

Gauff was frustrated with how she let her finals match against Aryna Sabalenka get away in the third set. Nevertheless, Gauff sounded positive about the future. She said she still was nowhere near playing her peak tennis and was embracing a new mindset going forward.

On top of that, Gauff has moved up one spot to World No. 3 in the latest WTA Rankings. She narrowly leads Iga Swiatek (who fell one spot) by a margin of 7,278 to 7,263 in the updated rankings. Gauff has a singles record of 16-6 with zero titles this season.

Clay is the preferred surface for both Gauff and Swiatek, so even the smallest change in tournament seeding could have major ramifications for each player.

Novak Djokovic Falls One Spot

Novak Djokovic sits on the court at Indian Wells. — Novak Djokovic at Indian Wells. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

When will Novak Djokovic play again? Who knows. After talks of rebuilding his body like a car this past off-season, Djokovic is keeping the vintage model parked in the garage a lot this year. After a third-round loss to Jack Draper at Indian Wells, Djokovic pulled out of the Miami Open and later the Monte-Carlo Masters.

Of course, Djokovic made it to the Miami Open final last year, where he lost to Jakub Mensik. Therefore, he lost 650 points and fell one spot to World No. 4. Meanwhile, Alexander Zverev made it to the semifinal this year, picking up 300 points and moving up to World No. 3.

Zverev leads Djokovic by a margin of 5,205 to 4,720 in the ATP Rankings. Zverev could expand his lead over Djokovic depending on how much time the 24-time Grand Slam champion chooses to take off. Djokovic has a singles record of 7-2 with zero singles titles so far this season.

Clay court season is here, and tennis fans can expect more swings in the rankings. Stay locked into Sports Illustrated's Serve On SI for all of your tennis news from the court and beyond.