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New Delhi: Sania Mirza has risen a creditable 11 places in singles rankings after her semi-final appearance in the Sunfeast Open and she is now placed at 59th in the latest WTA list released on Monday.With 405 points to her credit, the 19-year-old Hyderabadi is six places ahead of Kolkata event runners-up Olga Poutchkova of Russia, who leapfrogged 20 places, while winner Swiss Miss Martina Hingis improves one place to finish at eighth, according to information received here.

Li Na of China remains the best-ranked Asian at number 20 in the rankings headed by Amelie Mauresmo of France.

Among other Indian women, Shikha Uberoi (232nd), Ankita Bhambri (369th) and Isha Lakhani (391st) slipped from their previous rankings while Rushmi Chakravarthi (454th) maintained her position.

Meanwhile, doubles pros Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi remained static at ninth and 25th respectively in the ATP doubles individual rankings.

KOLKATA (Reuters) – Australian Casey Dellacqua upset second seed Karolina Sprem of Croatia as three more seeded players made first round exits in the Kolkata Open on Tuesday.

Sprem, last year’s losing finalist, started well before left-hander Dellacqua, ranked 155, wrested the second set tiebreak and went on to clinch the clash of two 21-year-olds 2-6 7-6 6-2.

Home favourite Sania Mirza, seeded fifth, defeated compatriot and qualifier Rushmi Chakravarthi 6-0 6-4.

Italy’s Alberta Brianti upset third seed Yuliana Fedak of Ukraine 6-4 6-2 while Alla Kudryavtseva rallied to oust eighth-seeded fellow Russian Anastassia Rodionova 1-6 6-3 6-3.

Uzbek qualifier Iroda Tulyaganova, the 2002 Asian Games gold medallist, started her comeback from a long injury layoff by easing into the second round with a 6-4 6-1 win over Taiwan’s Chia-Jung Chuang.

Four seeded players have so far been knocked out of the tournament with sixth-seeded Estonian Kaia Kanepi losing to Thailand’s Tamarine Tanasugarn on Monday.

Former world number one Martina Hingis, the top seed, used her rest day to visit Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity institution, where she donated $20,000.