THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MELBOURNE, Australia — Australian Open champion Kim Clijsters will move up one spot to No. 2, while Rafael Nadal will keep his No. 1 ranking despite losing in the quarter-finals to David Ferrer.
Caroline Wozniacki will hold onto the women’s No. 1 ranking when the lists are released Monday despite losing to China’s Li Na in the semifinals.
Serena Williams did not defend her title at Melbourne Park because of a foot injury and will drop to her lowest ranking in nearly four years. The 13-time Grand Slam singles champion fell from fourth to 12th, her lowest ranking since she was No. 18 in March 2007.
Wozniacki ensured she’d retain the No. 1 ranking by reaching the Australian Open semifinals, but frequently had to answer questions during the tournament about holding the top spot without winning a major.
"It’s sports. Life goes on," Wozniacki said after her loss to Li. "I believe if I keep working hard my time will come."
Vera Zvonareva will drop to No. 3 in the rankings, French Open champion Francesca Schiavone is fourth and Sam Stosur of Australia rounds out the top five.
Venus Williams is sixth, Li will move to a career-high No. 7 due to her finals appearance in Melbourne, Jelena Jankovic is eighth, Victoria Azarenka ninth and Agnieszka Radwanska 10th.
Venus Williams withdrew four minutes into her third-round match in Melbourne because of an ailing hip muscle. It was the first time in 251 Grand Slam matches she had retired from a major, and the loss caused her to drop out of the top five for the first time in a year.
On the men’s side Roger Federer, who lost to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semifinals, is No. 2 behind Nadal. Djokovic, who went on to win the Australian title, remains at No. 3, with Robin Soderling fourth and Melbourne Park runner-up Andy Murray at No. 5.
Ferrer moves up to No. 6 in the rankings, Tomas Berdych drops one spot to seven, Andy Roddick is eighth, Fernando Verdasco ninth and Jurgen Melzer moves into the top 10 at the expense of Mikhail Youzhny.
During the Australian Open, 16-time Grand Slam winner Federer played down the importance of rankings at the top of the game.
"I would say 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 doesn’t really matter a whole lot to me anyway," said Federer, a longtime No. 1. "Sure it’s better to be No. 2 so you don’t face No. 1 in the semis, but I don’t think the ranking will change my outlook a whole lot."