The 26-year-old first reached the top last October but lost the spot 16 weeks later having not hoisted a Grand Slam trophy.
The news comes after Sharapova, who said the decision to end their four-year partnership was "mutually agreed", was beaten by 44th-ranked Naomi Osaka in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open in California on Wednesday.
The Dubai Championships was fined a record $300,000 by the governing body of women's tennis (WTA) on Friday after top Israeli player Shahar Peer was barred from taking part in this week's event. The WTA said in a statement the fine was the largest levied against a WTA Tour member and Peer would be awarded $44,250 -- the average prize money she earned per tournament in 2008.
Vera Zvonareva of Russia beat India's Sania Mirza 7-5, 6-1 to win the Pattaya Open on Sunday.
Becker backed the idea of merging the ATP and the WTA and said the ongoing pause is an opportunity for the sport's stakeholders to work together.
Serena Williams' return to the WTA Tour following the birth of her first child will be the 'greatest challenge' of her career
'I haven't thought about anything. I mean I'm just here, I'm having a good time, I'm winning. What more can I ask for in a comeback?'
The WTA Tour indefinitely suspended its two-year experiment with on-court coaching.It will evaluate the results of the testing period and make a decision as to whether to adopt on-court coaching or not.
Currently the men's and women's Tours operate independently, although there are a handful of events featuring male and female draws, one of which is the Madrid Open that will be played as a 'virtual tournament' next week. Mat Wilander says the break will be much tougher for the younger players such as Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev than the likes of world number one Novak Djokovic, Federer and Nadal.
Top seed Maria Sharapova reached the Amelia Island championships final after Lindsay Davenport withdrew due to illness on Saturday. Sharapova's opponent will be unseeded Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova, who reached her first WTA Tour final when she beat France's Alize Cornet 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.
Russia's Dinara Safina said the players were unhappy with the changes being made to the 2009 WTA Tour schedule.
The world number 27 withdrew from the tournament because of a wrist injury.
Legendary tennis coach Bob Brett says Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza must work on her fitness to become a top-20 player.
Sania Mirza lost in the first round of her doubles match on Wednesday.
Unseeded Czech Marketa Vondrousova beat Britain's Johanna Konta 7-5, 7-6(2) to reach the French Open final.
Sania Mirza was dumped in the first round of the Ponte Vedra Beach championships in Miami on Monday by seventh seed Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine. The Indian ace lost 4-6, 3-6, even as 14-year-old American Madison Keys won on her WTA Tour debut, scoring a 7-5, 6-4 first round win over Russia's Alla Kudryavtseva.
Sunitha, a Florida-based US citizen ranked 181 in the world, played brilliantly making good use of her flowing forehands to progress to the next stage with a 6-4 2-6 7-5 win over Russian eighth seed Manasieva Vesna.
Wimbledon officials on Tuesday said they are continuing plans for the grasscourt major to start on June 29 as scheduled even though French Open organisers postponed the claycourt Grand Slam to September due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Any female tennis player found guilty of match-fixing will be given a lifetime ban from the sport, the head of women's tennis Larry Scott said.
The Indian had made the first round exit at the Tier I tournament at Key Biscayne in Miami last week.
The WTA Bangalore Open is now a Tier II event and will offer the highest prize money for a tennis event in India.
The 19-year old Indian and Ana Ivanovic of Serbia beat Italy's Maria Elena Camerin and Tathiana Garbin at the Nasdaq 100 Open.
China's Li Na celebrated her comeback from injury with a 4-6 6-3 6-4 triumph over Victoria Azarenka of Belarus to win the Australian Hardcourt Championships in Gold Coast on Saturday.
The former world number one beat Aravane Rezai of France 6-2, 6-2 in the final of the Auckland Classic.
Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic have won the last 11 Grand Slams between them and an incredible 54 since 2003.
The Russian proved too good for defending champion Mara Santangelo in the final.
The first Frenchwoman to win the Wimbledon singles title since 1925.
The victory helped the Russian secure the eighth and final berth in the WTA's Tour Championships.
Shikha Uberoi has been given a wild card entry to the Bangalore Open.
Also moving up was Mahesh Bhupathi, who improved two notches to 18th in the men's doubles rankings.
The duo had played at Wimbledon -- where they lost in the second round -- earlier this year.
Ana Ivanovic was unceremoniously tossed out of the US Open on Thursday by an obscure Frenchwoman who had never played a tour-level match before arriving at Flushing Meadows. Julie Coin set alight the Arthur Ashe Stadium court when she produced the match of her life to shatter the world number one's title hopes in the second round 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
The Indo-Israeli pair survived a scare from Tatiana Poutchek and Anastasia Rodionova before making the grade.
Andrea Petkovic battled back to advance to the semi-finals at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina on Friday while Czech qualifier Lucie Hradecka upset yet another seed with a victory over Sara Errani.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has said it is working on additional measures, including a new relief fund, to support lower-ranked professionals who have been left in the lurch due to coronavirus-led lockdowns.
Top seed Jelena Jankovic battled to an impressive 7-5, 6-4 win over Nadia Petrova to reach the semi-finals of the Los Angeles Classic on Friday. Jankovic, who is closing in on the world No.1 ranking, will face Dinara Safina in the last four after the Russian crushed Victoria Azarenka 6-3, 6-1.
Peng Shuai of China upset fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-3, 6-4 in a shocking start to the women's second round of the U.S. Open on Wednesday.
A final decision on a new tournament schedule aimed at shortening the season and getting the top players facing each other more regularly should be agreed by March 2007.
A major overhaul of women's tennis will be completed by 2009, the WTA Tour said on Tuesday.
The WTA Tour has criticised French Open organisers for awarding more prize money to the men competitors
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