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Akgul Amanmuradova made a jump as long as her name in this week’s WTA rankings, leaping 38 spots to No. 76 thanks to her strong showing in Cincinnati.
The 6-foot, 3-inch 26-year-old native of Uzbekistan, Amanmuradova exploded up the charts by reaching the quarterfinals last week, shocking No. 1 seed Jelena Jankovic in the round of 16. Amanmuradova netted $40,000 and 255 WTA rankings points for her efforts. It was easily the most points she’s earned in a tournament this year, and the second most money she’s brought home.

The top man moving up the charts this week is Jeremy Chardy. The Frenchman moved from No. 72 up to No. 58 by reaching the quarterfinals at Toronto, knocking off three Top 20 players (Marcos Baghadatis, Fernando Verdasco, Nikolay Davydenko) in the process.

Amanmuradova wasn’t the only big mover in the WTA rankings. Former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic continued her fight back through the rankings, soaring 23 spots to No. 39. She upended Victoria Azarenka in the first round and made it to the semifinals before retiring against eventual champion Kim Clijsters. It was Ivanovic’s first semifinal appearance Rome in May. Prior to Cincinnati, she had lost seven of her past 10 matches.

On the other side of the spectrum, Dinara Safina had the biggest drop of either tour, plummeting 35 spots to No. 70. Safina lost in the second round at Cincinnati, earning just 70 points. It’s the latest in a string of disappointments for Safina, who was ranked in the Top 10 to start the year and reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open before retiring with a back injury which caused her to miss Dubai, Indian Wells and Miami. When she lost in the first round of the French Open, she dropped out of the Top 20. She won the Cincinnati tournament in 2009, so losing to Clijsters early caused her to nosedive in the rankings.

Other pros moving up more than 10 spots were Kevin Anderson (+11 to #76), David Nalbandian (+8 to #37) and Bojana Jovanovski (+12 to #86). Anderson entered the Rogers Cup at No. 98 and reached the round of 16, falling to Rafael Nadal after defeating American Sam Querry. It is a career high ranking for the 24-year-old South African.

Nalbandian continues to be the feel good story of the late summer. After jumping 72 spots a week ago, he’s up another eight to No. 37 this week. He knocked out No. 12 David Ferrer and No. 5 Robin Soderling en route to the quarterfinals at Toronto, losing to eventual champion Andy Murray. In his last four ATP events, Nalbandian is 14-3 with one title. His only three losses are to #4 Murray, #3 Novak Djokovic and #1 Nadal.

Still a few months short of her 19th birthday, Jovanovski upset 19th-ranked Aravane Rezai to reach the round of 32 in Cincinnati after advancing through two qualifying rounds. Jovanovski has reached at least the second round in seven of the nine tournaments she has played this year.

ATP UP
Jeremy Chardy +14 to No. 58; Kevin Anderson +11 to No. 76; David Nalbandian +8 to No. 37

ATP DOWN
Rainer Schuettler -10 to No. 88; Ricardo Mello -9 to No. 92; Illya Marchenko -8 to No. 77

WTA UP
Akgul Amanmuradova +38 to No. 76; Ana Ivanovic +23 to No. 39; Bojana Jovanovski +12 to No. 86

WTA DOWN
Dinara Safina -35 to No. 70; Ksenia Pervak -10 to No. 96; Anna Chakvetadze -8 to No. 71; Sybille Bammer -8 to No. 80