In a dream come true for Sania Mirza, the teen tennis star became the first Indian woman to enter the top-50 list.
Sania, who was 59 last week, jumped 11 places to be at 48 following her fine run in the USD 1.3 million Acura Classic in San Diego, according to the WTA rankings released on Monday.
Sania also becomes the first Indian since Ramesh Krishnan to break into the top-50 in world rankings. Vijay Amritraj was ranked 16th in July 1980, while Ramesh Krishnan was ranked 23rd in 1985.
His father Ramanathan Krishnan was ranked world number three before the Open era. The highest ranking occupied by an Indian woman before Sania exploded on the scene was 134 by Nirupama Vaidyanathan in 1997.
Leander Paes' highest ever singles ranking was 73.
Going into the tournament, Sania needed 90 points to break into the top-50. She accumulated 103.5 points (including bonus points) from her two main draw as well as two qualifying round wins.
