Sania steady at 33rd in WTA rankings

Sania Mirza's disastrous return to court, after a three-month injury layoff, last week had no impact on her WTA rankings as she held on to the 33rd spot in the latest list released on Monday.

The Indian ace, who was sent packing in the second round of the WTA grass court event in Birmingham last week, has 848 points.

However, Sania gained a spot to be 19th in the doubles rankings with 1745 points.

The Hyderabadi girl, whose wrist had to be operated upon in the US, missed the entire clay court season due to the injury and is currently playing pre-Wimbledon tournaments to get match-fit for the grass court grand slam.

Meanwhile, in the ATP doubles rankings, Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes were also unchanged at the 13th and 23rd position respectively.

While Bhupathi has 2820 points, Paes, who lost in the finals of the Gerry Webber Open in Halle, Germany last night, has 2050 points in his kitty.

The estranged duo will play together in the Ordina Open starting on Monday in The Netherlands. This is one of the two events that the warring former partners will play together as part of their preparations for the Olympics in August.

The Indian Express, as they were called, is up against the unseeded pair of Yves Allegro and Sebastian Prieto in the first round of the grass court event, which is also a warm event for the Wimbledon Championships.