Victoria Azarenka (L) and Serena Williams pose after Williams won the women's singles championship Sunday at the U.S. Open Championship. Williams and Azarenka are ranked 1-2 in the world. UPI /Monika Graff |
License Photo
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Sept. 9 (UPI) -- With the top-ranked U.S. Open finalists creating a rematch from 2012, the moves in the WTA rankings came from semifinalists Li Na and Flavia Pennetta.
Serena Williams defeated Victoria Azarenka 7-5, 6-7 (6-8), 6-1 in Sunday's final. It was the fifth U.S. Open championship for Williams and goes with her French Open title earlier this year. She has a total of 17 Grand Slam titles, one behind Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, who are tied for second-most all-time. Steffi Graf won a record 22 major tournament singles championships.
Williams retains the No. 1 spot in the rankings, a place she's held for the last 30 weeks and 153 weeks overall. The 153 weeks atop the rankings is sixth-most, with Monica Seles next on the chart at 178.
Azarenka, ranked second, fell to 2-2 in Grand Slam finals. She was beaten by Williams in 2012 (also in three sets) but has won the last two Australian Opens.
Williams defeated Li in the semifinals but, by advancing that far, Li passes Sara Errani for fifth in the rankings. Errani is sixth.
Pennetta's run in the Open included wins over four seeded players, including two in the Top 10 -- Errani and No. 10-seed Roberta Vinci. Pennetta's ranking had suffered in the last two years due to injuries but the Open performance jumps her from 83rd to No. 31 this week.
A final change in the Top 10 sees the return of Jelena Jankovic to the No. 10 spot. She moves up two spots and displaces Petra Kvitova, who falls to 11th.
There are two WTA tournaments this week. No. 14-ranked Kirsten Flipkens leads the field as she tries to defend her title at the Challenge Bell tournament in Quebec City and 58th-ranked Bojana Jovanovski is the top seed for the Tashkent Open in Uzbekistan. Sixth-seeded Irina-Camelia Begu won that event last year.
The WTA Top 10 listing player's name, home country, ranking points and U.S. Open result:
1. Serena Williams, United States, 12,260, champion
2. Victoria Azarenka, Belarus, 9,505, runner-up
3. Maria Sharapova, Russia, 7,866, did not play, injury
4. Agnieszka Radwanska, Poland, 6,335, fourth round
5. Li Na, China, 5,565, semifinalist
6. Sara Errani, Italy, 4,325, second round
7. Marion Bartoli, France, 3,746, did not play, retired
8. Caroline Wozniacki, Denmark, 3,645, third round
9. Angelique Kerber, Germany, 3,420, fourth round
10. Jelena Jankovic, Serbia, 3,245, fourth round
