Bianca Andreescu climbs to sixth as Ash Barty holds on to top ranking

PARIS - Bianca Andreescu climbed three places to sixth in the WTA rankings on Monday, following her run to the final where she lost to Ashleigh Barty, who remains the world number one.

Andreescu, a 20-year-old Canadian who was forced to retire in the second set in Miami after turning her ankle, is approaching her best ranking since winning the 2019 US Open when she reached fourth.

Barty, who retained her title in Florida, shrugged off criticism of her continued presence at number one on Saturday, saying "I thoroughly deserve my spot at the top of the rankings".

The Australian has benefited from a tweak into the way rankings are calculated which takes into account the disruption caused by last year's pandemic shutdown. Barty skipped last year's rescheduled US and French Opens to remain at home.

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In spite of Barty's victory, her nearest challenger Naomi Osaka closed the gap by 150 points although the Japanese player remains more than 1,000 points behind.

The best progression of the week came from the Greek Maria Sakkari who reached the semifinals in Florida after knocking out Osaka. The 25-year-old Athenian moves up six places to 19th, her highest ranking yet.

Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, who made it to the last eight in Miami, climbed one step to seventh place with Serena Williams dropping down to eighth and Karolina Pliskova going down three places to ninth.

WTA rankings as of April 5:

1. Ashleigh Barty (AUS) 9186 pts

2. Naomi Osaka (JPN) 7985

3. Simona Halep (ROM) 6965

4. Sofia Kenin (USA) 5915

5. Elina Svitolina (UKR) 5750

6. Bianca Andreescu (CAN) 5265 (+3)

7. Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) 5085 (+1)

8. Serena Williams (USA) 4850 (-1)

9. Karolína Pliskova (CZE) 4660 (-3)

10. Kiki Bertens (NED) 4490 (+1)

11. Petra Kvitova (CZE) 4476 (-1)