- Serena Williams is about to edge back into the top 10 ranked tennis players despite the fact she hasn't played since her Australian Open exit three weeks ago.
- This is because other results have gone her way, which are set to move her to WTA rank 10, up from her current position of 11th.
- Williams has only played eight events since returning to the sport since pregnancy and giving birth, but has an eye on equalling Margaret Court's Grand Slam record of 24 titles. Williams currently has 23.
Serena Williams has gatecrashed her way into the top 10 ranked women's tennis players in the world even though she hasn't played for three weeks.
Williams has not competed since she was dumped out of the 2019 Australian Open quarter-final by Karolina Pliskova on January 23.
Officially ranked 11th in the world by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) at the time of writing this, Williams is about to climb into the top 10 after other results went her way, Metro reports.
Anastasija Sevastova, ranked 12th, needed to make the semi-final at the Qatar Total Open in Doha to merit her own inclusion, but was knocked out from the tournament by Anna Blinkova on Tuesday.
Elsewhere, Carolina Wozniacki, ranked 10th in the world - just one place higher than Williams - was due to compete in the tournament but had to withdraw because of illness. She will now fall down the WTA rankings, according to Metro, and Williams will take her place.
Williams remains only eight tournaments into her comeback after taking time out to give birth to her daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. in 2017.
Since returning to tennis in 2018, she has reached the finals of the 2018 Wimbledon Championships and the 2018 US Open, losing both times.
Williams has one eye on equalling Margaret Court's Grand Slam record of 24 titles, which she could realize this year should she triumph at the French Open, Wimbledon, or the US Open.