Serena's remarkable rankings rise despite stunning Aus Open exit

Serena Williams’ quarter finals meltdown at the Australian Open hasn’t stopped her from climbing the world rankings.

The US superstar returned to the top 10 in the most recent WTA rankings, improving from her previous ranking of 11.

Williams held a 5-1 lead over Karolina Pliskova in the quarter finals of the Australian Open in January, but gave away what looked to be a certain victory.

Her move up from 11th to 10th came at the expense of Caroline Wozniacki, who fell to 14th in the rankings.

It is Williams’ first entry in the top 10 since giving birth to her daughter Olympia in September 2017.

Japan’s Naomi Osaka, who won the Australian Open, remained at the top of the rankings.

Simona Halep and Sloane Stephens climbed to second and third respectively, while Petra Kvitova fell from second to fourth.

The men’s top 10 remained largely the same, with Novak Djokovic still holding top spot.

The only change came for Kei Nishikori and Roger Federer, who exchanged the sixth and seventh spots.

WTA TOP 10 AS OF FEBRUARY 18 (previous ranking in parenthesis):

* 1. (1) Naomi Osaka, Japan, 6970 points

* 2. (3) Simona Halep, Romania, 5537

* 3. (4) Sloane Stephens, USA, 5307

* 4. (2) Petra Kvitova, Czech Republic, 5120

* 5. (5) Karolina Pliskova, Czech Republic, 5055

* 6. (7) Elina Svitolina, Ukraine, 5020

* 7. (6) Angelique Kerber, Germany, 4960

* 8. (8) Kiki Bertens, Netherlands, 4885

* 9. (9) Aryna Sabalenka, Belarus, 3565

* 10. (11) Serena Williams, USA, 3406.

ATP TOP 10 AS AT 18/2/19 (previous ranking in parenthesis):

* 1. (1) Novak Djokovic, Serbia, 10,955 points

* 2. (2) Rafael Nadal, Spain, 8320

* 3. (3) Alexander Zverev, Germany, 6475

* 4. (4) Juan Martin del Potro, Argentina, 5060

* 5. (5) Kevin Anderson, South Africa, 4595

* 6. (7) Kei Nishikori, Japan, 4190

* 7. (6) Roger Federer, Switzerland, 4100

* 8. (8) Dominic Thiem, Austria, 3800

* 9. (9) John Isner, USA, 3225

* 10. (10) Marin Cilic, Croatia, 3140.