Ranking Watch: Magdalena Moving Up
Published June 16, 2009 09:36
Magdalena Rybarikova's first Tour singles title at the AEGON Classic last week has vaulted her up the new Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Rankings, from No.58 to a career-high of No.42. Her previous high was No.46.
The 20-year-old Slovakian's run to the title in Birmingham included straight set wins over No.1 seed Zheng Jie in the round of 16 and No.4 seed Li Na in the final. Before last week she had never even reached a Tour final.
Maria Sharapova, unaccustomed to being ranked so low, is starting to make her move in the wake of her nine-month injury layoff. The former world No.1 and three-time Grand Slam singles titlist followed up quarterfinal showings at Warsaw and Roland Garros with a final four appearance on the grass in Birmingham. That brought her from No.73 the previous week to No.59 as she prepares to go after her second Wimbledon crown, having won her first in 2004.
Other significant movers were Ioana Raluca Olaru, who went from No.91 to No.73 after winning her eighth ITF Women's Circuit singles title on the red clay of Marseille; Sania Mirza, who rose from No.98 to No.78 after her semifinal showing in Birmingham; and Masa Zec Peskiric, who went from No.105 to No.93, her Top 100 debut, after falling to Olaru in the Marseille final.
