MARIA SHARAPOVA RETURNS TO WTA WORLD NO.1

Written by: Staff on 7th June 2012

MARIA SHARAPOVA RETURNS TO WTA WORLD NO.1 |

Courtesy of WTA

News Release

Thursday, June 7, 2012

MARIA SHARAPOVA RETURNS TO WTA WORLD NO.1

25-year-old tops rankings for first time since 2008
Russian star one win away from career Grand Slam

PARIS, FRANCE – Maria Sharapova will become the new WTA World No.1 on Monday, June 11, following her semifinal victory over Petra Kvitova today at Roland Garros.

Sharapova originally ascended to No.1 on August 22, 2005, becoming the first Russian woman to achieve this milestone. The Russian has held the top ranking for 17 non-consecutive weeks during her career. This is her fifth stint as No.1, a position she last held in June 2008.

Sharapova surpasses current No.1, Belarusian Victoria Azarenka, who topped the rankings for 19 weeks beginning January 30, 2012. Three players were in contention for the No.1 ranking at the start of Roland Garros: Azarenka, Sharapova and World No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska. Following Azarenka’s fourth round loss to Dominika Cibulkova at Roland Garros, Sharapova needed to reach the final to secure the top ranking.

“It’s such an amazing feeling to be back in the position of being No.1 in the world. I had the joy of holding the No.1 trophy many years ago,” said Sharapova. “Since then, I’ve gone through the injury and come back, and to be holding it a few years later is a huge achievement for me. It’s a special day and I hope I can keep the ranking for a long time.”

“Maria has once again proven what an extraordinary champion and fighter she is in regaining the WTA World No. 1 ranking,” said Stacey Allaster, Chairman & CEO of the WTA. “Her will to win and ability to overcome obstacles has made her one of the game’s great ambassadors, an inspirational icon and a one of the world’s most popular athletes.”

Sharapova has won two titles so far in 2012, the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (Stuttgart) and Internazionali BNL d’Italia (Rome), and finished runner-up at the Australian Open (l. Azarenka), BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells (l. Azarenka) and Sony Ericsson Open in Miami (l. Radwanska). Her tally of career titles now stands at 26, placing her fourth among active players behind Venus Williams (43), Kim Clijsters (41) and Serena Williams (41). She has now won at least one title each year since 2003, the 6th best streak in WTA history.

On Saturday, June 9, Sharapova will aim to burnish her No.1 status by winning her first Roland Garros title. Victory in the final would see the Russian become just the 10th woman to achieve a career Grand Slam (6th in Open Era). Were Sharapova to win her fourth Grand Slam singles title, the 25-year-old would sit in joint 12th place on the Open Era list of Grand Slam winners, along with Kim Clijsters, Hana Mandlikova and Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario.

SHARAPOVA’S PREVIOUS WEEKS AT WORLD NO.1

DATES	WEEKS
22 August – 28 August, 2005	1
12 September – 23 October, 2005	6
29 January – 18 March, 2007	7
19 May – 8 June, 2008	3

WEEKS AT WORLD NO.1

PLAYER	WEEKS AT No.1	DATE REACHED No.1
Steffi Graf (GER)	377	August 17, 1987
Martina Navratilova (USA)	332	July 10, 1978
Chris Evert (USA)	260	November 3, 1975
Martina Hingis (SUI)	209	March 31, 1997
Monica Seles (USA)	178	March 11, 1991
Serena Williams (USA)	123	July 8, 2002
Justine Henin (BEL)	117	October 20, 2003
Lindsay Davenport (USA)	98	October 12, 1998
Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)	67	October 11, 2010
Amélie Mauresmo (FRA)	39	September 13, 2004
Dinara Safina (RUS)	26	April 20, 2009
Tracy Austin (USA)	21	April 7, 1980
Kim Clijsters (BEL)	20	August 11, 2003
Victoria Azarenka (BLR)	19	January 30, 2012
Maria Sharapova (RUS)	18*	August 22, 2005
Jelena Jankovic (SRB)	18	August 11, 2008
Jennifer Capriati (USA)	17	October 15, 2001
Ana Ivanovic (SRB)	12	June 9, 2008
Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario (ESP)	12	February 6, 1995
Venus Williams (USA)	11	February 25, 2002
Evonne Goolagong Cawley(AUS)	2	April 26, 1976