Simona Halep is now officially down to No. 5 in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) ranking updated today, this being the third consecutive week this year Halep has dropped one place.

The reason for the skilled tennis player’s decline this week is her first-round elimination from the Qatar Open. Halep was outrun by Garbine Muguruza, who now holds the fourth position.

Halep, as a defending champion, is down to 4745 points, being outstripped in the world ranking by Serena Williams (9245 points), Angelique Kerber (5700 points), Agnieszka Radwanska (5450 points), and also by Garbine Muguruza (4831 points).

She has also dropped two places in the Road to Singapore official ranking, from 70th to 68th. Her most recent downfall was only a year and a half after the most significant achievement in her career, when she reached the prestigious second place on Aug. 11, 2014.

The Romanian tennis player did indeed qualify for the Sydney semifinals, but went on to lose all the WTA matches she competed in. In the Australian Open, she was prematurely defeated 4-6, 3-6 in the first round by a rising tennis player from China, Shuai Zhang, who at that point succeeded in carrying out her very first win in a Grand Slam tournament.

Unexpected defeat in Dubai

After her rather unfortunate outcome at the Australian Open, the Romanian player suffered an unexpected defeat in the Dubai tournament, where she played against Ana Ivanovic, a player from Sebia, which caused Halep to drop yet another place in the WTA ranking, from third to fourth. Her defeat was unexpected; even her opponent in the Dubai tournament said prior to the match "I know I have done the work, and now it's just about executing and also enjoying competition. Next match is going to be a tough one for me. Simona is a very tough, consistent player. She strikes the ball well, she moves well, so it's going to be a good challenge."

Halep at the Doha tournament

After that, in the Doha tournament, Halep, who then held fourth place in the WTA, was eliminated by Elena Vesnina, who was then the 118th ranked.

Simona’s fans were all the more disappointed as she had won the Doha tournament back in 2014.

Simona Halep remains a top tennis player, and the Romanian tennis player’s fans throughout the globe are now awaiting the defending champion’s coming matches.