Sania drops a spot to 49th rank in WTA rankings

New Delhi, Apr 16 (UNI) Nursing a knee injury for over one and a half months, Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza dropped one place to 49th rank in the latest WTA rankings released today.

Sania, who has been under rehabilitation to recuperate from an Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury which she suffered last month just before the prestigious Sony Ericsson Open, has also slipped two place 40th in the doubles rankings.

Meanwhile in the women singles, the US-based Shikha Uberoi has climbed up three places to 236th from her previous 239th rank, whereas veteran Rushmi Chakravarthi has experienced a considerable drop of eight places to 408 from her last week's standings.

However, following on her last week's trend, Ankita Bhambri has once again encountered a major drop this week when she slid to 489th from 476th in the latest standings.

As expected there were no major surprises in the top of the chart. Belgian Justine Henin Hardenne continued to lead the pack followed by Maria Sharapova of Russia. Amelie Mauresmo of France is at the third spot.

Meanwhile, in the ATP rankings, Leander Paes who scripted India's hard-fought Davis Cup victory against Kazakhstan few days back, holds on to his eighth position, while his estranged partner Mahesh Bhupathi continues to languish at the 22nd spot.

UNI