Kuznetsova passes V. Williams in rankings

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Svetlana Kuznetsova slipped by Venus Williams and is ranked No. 3 in Monday's women's tennis rankings.

World No. 1 Serena Williams had a 5-point lead over second-rated Dinara Safina as they kept the top two spots in the latest WTA rankings.

But Kuznetsova, who won two weeks ago at Beijing, moved up one to No. 3 and shoved Venus Williams to fourth. Venus Williams, like Safina, has been in a slump, having lost three of her last four matches.

The rest of the women's tennis Top 10 remained the same with four tournaments left on the 2009 calendar.

Elena Dementieva is fifth, but only 21 ratings points behind Venus Williams. Caroline Wozniacki is sixth followed by, in order, Vera Zvonareva, Victoria Azarenka, Jelena Jankovic and Agnieszka Radwanska.

The WTA has its Kremlin Cup tournament in Moscow this week and the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, Qatar, beginning Oct. 27 are the two big events left this year.