KVITOVA SET TO DROP TO NUMBER 3

Czech Republic tennis star and currently the 2nd ranked female tennis player in the world, Petra Kvitova is likely to lose one position and drop down to number three in the world when the new set of rankings are announced by the Women’s Tennis Association or the WTA next week.

Maria Sharapova, the former world number one and winner of three Grand Slams, is likely to replace the Czech beauty who has withdrawn from the Open GDF Suez in Paris, France where she would have been the top seed had she played in the tournament.

However, with Kvitova out of the event and the next threat to the crown coming from world number seven, Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli, Sharapova is the hands down favorite to win the crown and climb up to number two in the world rankings next week. She has been having more or less a decent 2012, having already reached the final of the Australian Open where she lost to eventual world number one Victoria Azarenka, who, with 8585 points will still hold on to her top spot.

Petra Kvitova currently has 7680 points, being followed by Sharapova on 7560 points and a win in Paris on hard court, which is her favorite surface, could propel the 24 year old Russian to number two in the rankings with just 130 points separating the two.

Marion Bartoli, the world number seven could also do a lot of good to her rankings if she manages to win the title in Paris but most of the experts have considered it to be a foregone conclusion that Maria Sharapova will win the title and will overtake Petra Kvitova at second place in the rankings, leaving Azarenka in relative safety with her top spot in no doubt, at least for the next one month.