Kontaveit, 27, has been struggling to shake off a back injury since October. The Estonian missed out on recent tournaments in Doha and Dubai in order to aid her recovery. She is currently aiming to return to action at the Indian Wells Masters in California next month.

37-year-old Kaia Kanepi, who remains in 48th position in the WTA rankings, is now Estonia's number one once again.

The last time Kanepi was Estonian number one was August 2015, when she was ranked 89th and the then 19-year-old Kontaveit was WTA No. 152.

Kontaveit then reached the last eight at the U.S. Open, where she lost out to Venus Williams, shooting up the rankings to 96th spot, while Kanepi's second round defeat meant she dropped to 121st.

Kontaveit had held on to Estonian number one spot since then, climbing to a career high of WTA No.2 in the process.  

Estonia's Elena Malõgina rose eight places to WTA No. 367 in the latest rankings, while Maileen Nuudi also moved up and is now WTA No. 576.

Poland's Iga Swiatek continues as WTA No. 1, followed by Arina Sabalenka of Belarus, who competes under a neutral flag. Jessica Pegula of the USA, Tunisia's Ons Jabeur and Caroline Garcia of France complete the top five.

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