2012 is shaping up to be a memorable year for Germans on the WTA, the latest example being Angelique Kerber and Mona Barthel establishing new career-highs on the rankings.

Kerber had made at least the semis of six of her past 10 tournaments, including at last week's Premier event in Paris when she captured her first career title. That lifted her from No.27 to No.22, making this the first time since August 1988 that four Germans have been ranked so high. Here is a comparison of those two ranking weeks for Germans:

Notes: The last time four Germans were ranked in the Top 20 was July 1988 … Kerber, whose record so far in 2012 is 14-3, plays fellow German Lisicki in the first round of Doha on Tuesday.

As for Barthel, she went from No.43 to No.39, 30 spots higher than where she started the year. This is the fourth time in the last five ranking weeks she has climbed to a new career-high. Her quarterfinal appearance in Paris gave her a 16-3 record in 2012, including qualifying matches.

In other news, Maria Sharapova moved up a spot to No.2 and is spending her 75th week in the Top 2, the 11th most of any player in rankings history. Also, Mandy Minella rose from No.116 to No.95 to make her Top 100 debut.