Romania’s tennis star Simona Halep returns to number 2 in WTA ranking

Romanian tennis player Simona Halep will go up one place in the WTA ranking of the best women’s tennis players in the world. She will return to number 2 starting next Monday, April 27, surpassing Russian Maria Sharapova, according to wtatennis.com. Halep will advance in the ranking after Sharapova's loss at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix on Thursday, April 23. Halep has previously been World No. 2 for eight weeks between August 11 and October 5, 2014. The Romanian will come next to number one American player Serena Williams. Halep made it to Porsche Tennis Grand Prix’s quarterfinals on Wednesday night, April 22, after a 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 win over Spain’s Garbine Muguruza. She will play Sara Errani on Friday, April 24, for a spot in the semifinals. Halep already won three titles this year. In January, she won the final of the Shenzhen Open in Chinaafter beating Swiss player Timea Bacsinszky. Then, in late February, she won the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, marking the tenth career title as a professional tennis player. In March, the Romanian won the Indian Wells tennis tournament after a long final with Serbian Jelena Jankovic. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com