Tennis: Simona Halep returns to third place in WTA rankings

Romanian Simona Halep returned to third place in the world rankings of professional tennis players (WTA), made public on Monday, after playing in the final of the WTA Finals in Singapore.

The first place is occupied by American player Serena Williams, with the second being taken by Russian player Maria Sharapova.

Halep had finished the 2012 season ranked 47th in the world, the 2013 ranked 11th in the world, ending this year ranked third.

Irina Begu is the second Romanian in the world top 100, maintaining her ranking as 42nd, while Monica Niculescu also maintains her ranking from the previous week, 47, while Sorana Cirstea dropped one spot, ranking 95th at the moment. Andreea Mitu continues her upward trend towards the top 100 of the women's rankings, currently holding the 126th spot (seven spots better than last week), the best ranking of her career up to now.

In the doubles' rankings, Monica Niculescu continues to rank 38, Raluca Olaru holds her ground at 54, with Irina Begu following close behind on 55. AGERPRES