Madrid, July 16 (IANS): Serena Williams of the United States rocketed an astounding 153 places up to world No. 28 in the Women's Tennis Association rankings released on Monday, after finishing runner-up at Wimbledon. The 23-time major champion Williams' ranking fell due to her taking maternity leave after the birth of her daughter Olympia, but with four tournaments under her belt, the new mom has made a strong return to the top 30, reports Efe. In rankings dominated by Romania's Simona Halep, Germany's Angelique Kerber climbed six spots to world No. 4 after claiming her first-ever Wimbledon title on Saturday, when she defeated Williams 6-3, 6-3. Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki and the US's Sloane Stephens came in world No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. Meanwhile, Serbia's Novak Djokovic's Wimbledon triumph has helped him jump 11 places to be 10th in the men's world tennis rankings, released by the the men's Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). The Serbian star had fallen in the rankings after dropping out of the 2016 Wimbledon quarter-final -- remaining off the court of the rest of the year -- and had a rocky return in the 2018 season, reports Efe. But his magnificent run at the Wimbledon, which culminated on Sunday with him overpowering Kevin Anderson of South Africa 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) in a lopsided final, got him back among the top-10 ranked players. Anderson climbed to No.5 thanks to his runner-up finish, while Roger Federer held on to world No.2 spot but lost ground to top-ranked Rafael Nadal after being defeated by the South African in the quarter-final.
