Ana Ivanovic has continued her mini-resurgence landing inside the top 10 of the latest WTA rankings after a respectable effort in the recently-concluded 2014 Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, USA. The Serbian ace, who is a popular tennis player because of her looks than actual tennis accomplishments, is now ranked no. 10-- her highest since being ranked becoming world number one in 2008.

At the Stanford tournament, Ivanovic defeated Sabine Lisicki (Germany), 7-6 (2), 6-1 in the Round of 32 and Carol Zhao (Canada), 6-1, 6-1 in the Round of 16 before falling to top seed Serena Williams of the United States in the quarterfinals. Ivanovic was in top form against the top player in the world winning the first set (2-6) before falling in the next two (6-3, 7-5).

WTA Rankings – Top 10 (As of August 4, 2014)
1. Serena Williams (USA) – 9,700 points
2. Li Na (China) – 6,960 points
3. Simona Halep (Romania) – 6,785 points
4. Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) – 6,050 poin--ts
5. Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) – 5,120 points
6. Maria Sharapova (Russia) – 4,881 points
7. Angelique Kerber (Germany) – 4,570 points
8. Eugenie Bouchard (Canada) – 4,460 points
9. Jelena Jankovic (Serbia) – 3,900 points
10. Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) – 3,605 points

“The WTA rankings are based on a 52-week, cumulative system. A player's ranking is determined by her result at a maximum of 16 tournaments for singles and 11 for doubles. The tournaments that count towards a player's ranking are those that yield the highest ranking points during the rolling 52-week period,” as per the WTA’s official website.

The top six players—Williams through Sharapova retained the places in the rankings while Kerber (from no.8 to no. 7) and Bouchard (from no. 7 to no. 8) switched places. Ivanovic beat out Victoria Azarenka of Belarus inside the top 10.

The end of year rankings for Ivanovic hit a career-high in 2007 and 2008 when she finished in 4th and 5th place, respectively. It was also during this stretch that she became world number one—on June 9, 2008. However, Ivanovic’s game—and rankings-- faltered in the last five years falling to 22nd in 2009 and 2011 end-of-year rankings in those years.

Ivanovic’s mission to get back to the top started off well in the 2014 season. She won over the likes Venus Williams, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 (final) and Kirsten Flipkens, 6-0, 7-6 (3) (semifinal) at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand to start the year with a title then followed it up with a strong performance at the first Grand Slam of the year.

At the 2014 Australian Open, she upset top seed Serena Williams, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the Round of 16 before falling to Eugenie Bouchard (Canada), 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 in the quarters.

Inconsistency remains a problem for the Serbian who hit a rough stretch from February to March—getting the boot early in four tournaments (Doha, Dubai, Miami and Indian Wells) during this time. She did win the 2014 Monterrey Open with wins over Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) in the semis in Mexico and had another final appearance at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany where she lost to another top player in Maria Sharapova.

Can Ana Ivanovic continue her rise in the women’s rankings? Will the Serbian regain her status as one of the best players like five years ago? Or will she be known as just another pretty face in the women’s tour without significant titles to show for?