Zheng moves to historic 15th spot

China's tennis ace Zheng Jie made history yesterday by rising to 15th in the newly released Sony Ecrisson WTA world rankings, breaking the previous record of 16th set by compatriot Li Na in Jan 2007.

Zheng, 16th on the previous rankings, was stopped by French veteran Amelie Mauresmo in the second round of the Madrid Open last week.

However, Mauresmo and Switzerland's Patty Schnyder, both just beneath Zheng in the rankings, failed to advance to the semifinals and earn enough points to surpass Zheng, who leapfrogged Alize Cornet of France, who drops from 15th to 20th.