MELBOURNE, Australia - Victoria Azarenka will keep her No. 1 ranking after defeating Li Na to successfully defend her Australian Open title.
Azarenka needed to win Saturday's final to maintain her hold on the top spot, otherwise Serena Williams, who lost in the quarterfinals, would have become No. 1.
Williams will rise a place to No. 2 when the new rankings are released on Monday, trading spots with Maria Sharapova, who lost in the semifinals at Melbourne Park.
Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska will remain fourth and Li will be fifth, up one place.
The biggest mover in the rankings was 19-year-old American Sloane Stephens, whose semifinal appearance at the Australian Open, which included a quarterfinal win over Williams, moved her from 29th to 17th.
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The leading new rankings expected Monday:
1: Victoria Azarenka.
2: Serena Williams.
3. Maria Sharapova.
4. Agnieszka Radwanska.
5. Li Na.
6. Angelique Kerber.
7. Sara Errani.
8. Petra Kvitova.
9. Samantha Stosur.
10. Marion Bartoli.
11. Caroline Wozniacki.
12. Nadia Petrova.
13. Ana Ivanovic.
14. Dominika Cibulkova.
15. Maria Kirilenko.
16. Roberta Vinci.
17. Sloane Stephens.
18. Lucie Safarova.
19. Julia Goerges.
20. Ekaterina Makarova.
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