Isabella Shinikova

In the latest update of the ATP world rankings, Grigor Dimitrov, Bulgaria's most successful tennis player, maintains his position in the top ten despite a slight drop. Dimitrov now stands at No. 10 after adding 100 points to his tally to reach the round of 16 at the Monte-Carlo Masters 1000 tournament.

Tennis enthusiasts anticipate an exciting showdown as Grigor Dimitrov, Bulgaria's top-ranked player, gears up to commence his campaign at the prestigious Monte Carlo Masters today. Retaining his ninth position in the latest ATP rankings, Dimitrov enters the tournament with a formidable track record, ready to showcase his prowess on the court.

Romania's tennis players Jaqueline Cristian and Irina Bara managed to advance on Sunday to the main draw of the women's singles WTA tournament in Lyon (France), with prizes worth 275,000 US dollars, after their victories in the first round of qualifications. Cristian (aged 21, WTA's 174th) surpassed Belgian Lara Salden (aged 21, WTA's 291st), with a score of 6-3, 6-0, in just 55 minutes.

Romanian tennis player Ana Bogdan advanced on Thursday to the last round of qualifications for the women's singles main draw of the US Open, the last Grand Slam of the year, after defeating Australian Ellen Perez in New York, with a score of 6-4, 7-6 (6). Bogdan (aged 26, WTA's 147th) managed to defeat he opponent (aged 23, WTA's 164th) after one hour and 41 minutes.

Romanian pairings Irina Begu/Raluca Olaru and Jaqueline Cristian/Gabriela Ruse on Wednesday advanced to quarter-finals of the women's doubles event of the 250,000-USD BRD Bucharest Open tennis tournament at the BNR Arenas in Bucharest. N.1 Begu-Olaru prevailed over Giorgia Marchetti (Italy)/Laura Pigossi (Brazil) 6-4 6-2 in 66 minutes.

TALLINN - Serbia beat Bulgaria 2-0 in Thursday's Round 2, Group D tie of the Euro/African Zone Group I.

Ivana Jorovic defeated Viktoriya Tomova 6-1, 6-1 and Nina Stojanovic beat Isabella Shinikova 6-2, 6-2 to win the encounter for Serbia, who will face Israel on Friday in a bid to secure a play-off berth.

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In a decisive encounter from Group I Europe/Africa of the Fed Cup on Friday, Bulgaria lost its two singles matches against Belgium.

Thus Bulgaria missed the opportunity to qualify for the play-off and compete for promotion to an upper group.

The highest ranking Bulgarian female tennis player Tsvetana Pironkova was defeated by Alison van Uytvanck with 2:6, 4:6.

Bulgaria defeated Hungary and Latvia in its matches from Europe/Africa zone Group 1 of the Fed Cup.

On Wednesday, Bulgaria won against Hungary with 2:1, while on Thursday it defeated Latvia with the same score.

Bulgaria is represented by its highest ranking female tennis player Tsvetana Pironkova, Elitsa Kostova, Isabella Shinikova and Dia Evtimova.