Sania Mirza holds on to 44th spot

NEW DELHI: Despite a first round elimination at the Rogers Cup in Montreal, Sania Mirza managed to hold on to 44th place in the latest WTA world rankings.

The Hyderabadi teenager, who has been in action in singles and doubles for several weeks on the trot, went down in three sets to Italian qualifier Alberta Brianti in Canada, but the reversal did not seem to affect her ranking adversely.

Though Sania and her Polish partner Marta Domachowska lost in the first round as well, the Indian saw her doubles ranking climb a notch to number 28.

Sania will tune up for the US Open starting August 28 by playing the Forest Hills Women's Tennis Classic in New York, where she faces American wildcard Alexa Glatch in the first round.

Shikha Uberoi is the next highest ranked Indian in singles at 193, a fall of five places, while her sister Neha, playing under the American flag had a jump of 18 spots to 234th. In the doubles charts, Shikha fell one place to number 127.  

France's Amelie Mauresmo continues to lead the singles rankings ahead of Belgian Kim Clijsters, who would not be able to defend her US Open crown due to a wrist injury.

The big mover was Swiss Miss Martina Hingis, who returned to the tour after a three year injury lay-off, breaking into the top ten after reaching the final at Montreal.