Sania jumps up 11 places to be 59th

Sania, who recently experienced a steep fall in the rankings is now the fourth Asian in the ranking ladder.

Sania Mirza received a major boost on Monday when she jumped up 11 places to be at 59th spot in the latest WTA world rankings by virtue of reaching the semifinals of the Sunfeast Open tournament in Kolkata.

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Sania, who recently experienced a steep fall in the rankings because of her early exits in WTA meets, defeated compatriot Rushmi Chakravathi, Sandra Kloesel of Germany and higher ranked Aravane Rezai of France to set up a semifinals clash with former Wimbledon champion Martina Hingis of Switzerland.

However, the Hyderabadi lost to Hingis despite putting up a good showing.

Sania, with 405 points, is now the fourth Asian in the ranking ladder.

But, the ace Indian reached her career best doubles ranking a day after winning the Sunfeast title with her South African partner Liezel Huber.

The Indian, with 1070 points, rose two place to 26th spot while Huber got a promotion of three places to be at 18th in the doubles ranking.

Leaving aside Sania, Indian women in the WTA circuit had disappointment in store as Shika Uberoi (193 to 232), Ankita Bhambri (360 to 369) and Isha Lakhani (390 to 391) dropped in their rankings.

However, Rushmi maintained her 454th spot despite the first round loss to Sania at the Sunfeast Open.

On the men's front, both Leander Paes (9th) and Mahesh Bhupathi (25th) retained their doubles rankings.