Shinobu Asagoe took over as the No. 1 Japanese player and Ai Sugiyama settled for second in the latest rankings by the WTA released Monday.
Asagoe, who earned points with her quarterfinals appearance in the singles at the Bausch & Lomb Championships in Florida last week, improved from 26th to 22nd in the world rankings for women. Sugiyama, who was eliminated in the third round in the same tournament, went down from 23rd to 24th.
Sugiyama had ranked highest among Japan women since the 1997 season, when Kimiko Date retired.
Lindsay Davenport retained the top spot, and Maria Sharapova climbed into second place in the rankings announced every week.
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