Moscow: Former world No.3 Nadia Petrova has returned to the top 20 in the latest WTA rankings published Sunday.

The Russian rose two places to No. 20. Serbia's Jelena Jankovic and Czech player Lucie Safarova lost out as a result of Petrova's rise, each dropping one place to 21st and 22nd.

Petrova's stay in the top 20 could be brief, as the rankings will receive a major shake-up after Wimbledon, which starts Monday.

Petrova reached the fourth round of last year's competition before losing to eventual champion Victoria Azarenka, and she will lose ranking points if she fails to repeat the performance.

Elsewhere in the rankings, Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova climbed three places to 30th, while the biggest leap in the top 100 was made by Austria's Tamira Paszek, who rose 22 places to 37th after reaching the semi-final at Eastbourne.

Britain's Laura Robson entered the top 100 for the first time, climbing 14 places to 97th after making the second round at Birmingham. (IANS)