Marion Bartoli Joins WTA Top 10

By Nick Georgandis
Photo Credit: Natasha Peterson/ Corleve

(March 21, 2011) Most of the names are the same, but the line-up of the WTA women's top 10 is a vastly-changed landscape in the wake of the BNP Paribas Open's conclusion on Sunday.

Tournament champion Caroline Wozniacki extended her lead on the No. 1 position in the world to nearly 1,000 points (9,850 to 8,895) over injury withdrawal Kim Clijsters. Francesca Schiavone swapped places with upset-victim Samantha Stosur to take over fourth place, while Na Li (sixth) did the same with Jelena Jankovic (seventh), last year's defending champion.

A strong showing to reach the semifinals got Victoria Azarenka up to eighth, jumping the injured Venus Williams, and a trip to the event's final saw France's Marion Bartoli rise from 17th to 10th.

Another big jump came from Russia's Maria Sharapova, who reached the semifinals and moved from 18th to 13th because of it. The injured Serena Williams slid from 11th to 12th. Her real nosedive in the rankings won't come until later in the spring when she starts missing major events she participated in during 2010.

Jumping back into the Top 100 was Russia's Dinara Safina, who used a trip to the quarterfinals to rise from 108th to 91st. Also jumping into the Top 100 was American teenager Christina Mchale, whose upset of Svetlana Kuznetsova propelled her from 112th to 98th.

The tournament's biggest tumble befell last year's semifinalist Jie Zheng, who dropped from 59th to 45th.