Safina tops women's rankings

HAMBURG: Dinara Safina retained first place in the latest women's tennis rankings issued Monday by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) as she makes another attempt to claim her first title at the majors.

The Russian Safina takes 9,801 points into the French Open which started Sunday, with the Williams sisters Serena and Venus following on 7,838 and 7,237 points, respectively.

The defending French Open champion Ana Ivanova of Serbia is eighth on 4,892 points.

WTA top 10 as of May 25 (previous ranking in parenthesis):

1. (1) Dinara Safina, Russia, 9,801 points

2. (2) Serena Williams, United States, 7,838

3. (3) Venus Williams, United States, 7,237

4. (4) Elena Dementieva, Russia, 6,931

5. (5) Jelena Jankovic, Serbia, 6,720

6. (6) Vera Zvonareva, Russia, 5,640

7. (7) Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia, 5,091

8. (8) Ana Ivanovic, Serbia, 4,892

9. (9) Victoria Azarenka, Belarus, 4,526

10. (10) Caroline Wozniacki, Denmark, 4,370