Tennis: Simona Halep falls to 3rd position in WTA rankings, Naomi Osaka takes the lead

Romanian tennis player Simona Halep has lost the first position in the WTA rankings released on Monday, after 48 consecutive weeks and 64 in total, following the elimination at Australian Open in the last sixteen round. Halep is now on the third position with 5,582 points, after Naomi Osaka and Petra Kvitova. Osaka is 1,448 points ahead of Halep.

Angelique Kerber is down from the 2^nd position to the 6^th, whereas Caroline Wozniacki is on the 9^th position, down from the third. Serena Williams is up five positions to the 11^th with 3,406 points.

WTA rankings, top 10 positions:

1. Naomi Osaka (Japan) 7,030 points;
2. Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) 6,290;
3. Simona Halep (Romania) 5,582;
4. Sloane Stephens (US) 5,307;
5. Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic) 5,100;
6. Angelique Kerber (Germany) 4,965;
7. Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) 4,940;
8. Kiki Bertens (Netherlands) 4,430;
9. Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) 3,566;
10. Arina Sabalenka (Belarus) 3,485.

Other Romanian tennis players have fallen in the rankings: Mihaela Buzarnescu – down from 26^th to 28^th position with 1.700 points; Irina Begu is down from 70^th to 71^st position with 822 points; Ana Bogdan – down from 82^nd to 99^th position with 619 points; Sorana Cirstea – down from 84^th to 92^nd position with 670 points; Monica Niculescu – down from the 99^th to the 100^th position with 617 points.