Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova has dropped down to sixth place in world ranking by the Women's Tennis Association after she failed to advance beyond the fourth round of the Wimbledon grand-slam tournament.
Sharapova, who previously occupied the fifth spot in the WTA ranking, was overtaken by the Czech Republic's Petra Kvitova after the latter put on an emphatic display to beat Canada's Eugenie Bouchard and win the Venus Rosewater dish in the Wimbledon women's final on Saturday.
U.S. star Serena Williams maintains her spot atop the women's ranking, despite dropping out of the tournament following a shock third-round loss to French player Alize Cornet.
On the men's side, Serbia's Novak Djokovic overtook Spain's Rafael Nadal atop the ranking by the Association of Tennis Professionals, or ATP, after recording a thrilling five-set victory over Switzerland's Roger Federer in the men's final on Sunday.
Djokovic took almost four hours to defeat seven-time champion Federer, clawing himself back from one set down to win the tie 6-7 (7-9) 6-4 7-6 (7-4) 5-7 6-4.
Russia's Mikhail Yuzhny and Dmitry Tursenev are the only other Russian men to feature among the world's top players, occupying 22nd and 20th place, respectively.
Russian women have enjoyed a little more success with four players in the world's top 50, with Yekaterina Makarova in 19th place, Anastasia Pavlyuchenko in 23rd, Svetlana Kuznetsova in 26th and Yelena Vesnina in 49th.
See also: Sharapova Tops Forbes' List of Russian Celebrities
