Sania down one place to 46th in latest WTA Rankings

New Delhi, Feb 26 (UNI) Having remained out of action last week, Sania Mirza lost one spot to be 46th in the latest WTA Rankings issued today.

Sania, who will take on Italian Romina Oprandi in the opening round of the 1,340,000 dollar Qatar Total Open starting today, has 497 ranking points after taking a break last week.

The 20-year-old, however, continued to improve on her doubles standings, rising two places to 26th in the latest list with 1090 ranking points.

Sania, who was last seen in action in the Banagalore Open where she made a shocking quarterfinal exit, is likely to meet German Anna-Lena Groenfeld in the second round of Qatar Open if she gets past Oprandi.

Among the other Indians in the WTA list, the US-based Shikha Uberoi (114.50) is the next highest placed after Sania at 231st, which is an improvement of one position.

Veteran Rushmi Chakravarthi (46.25) and Ankita Bhambri (39) dropped one spot to be 393rd and 439th respectively. Ankita's sister Sanaa (23.75), however, climbed six positions to be 553rd this week.

At the top, Russian Maria Sharapova continued to be world number one with 3824 ranking points. The former Wimbledon Champion is followed by Belgian Justine Henin Hardenne, who has 3516 points.

Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo completes the top-three with 3070 ranking points.

Meanwhile, in the ATP doubles rankings, estranged partners Leander Paes (3150) and Mahesh Bhupahti (1585) held on to their previous standings of 12th and 27th respectively.

UNI