MOSCOW, April 21 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Maria Sharapova has moved up a place to third in the Women Tennis Association rating published on Monday.

The former World No. 1 improved her ranking by reaching last week's quarterfinals in the $1.34-million tennis tournament in Charleston, U.S., and eased her compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova down to fourth position.

Two more Russian tennis players, Anna Chakvetadze and Yelena Dementyeva, slided one place lower in the new rating list, occupying seventh and ninth position respectively.

The top two rankings, announced by the WTA weekly, remained unchanged and are held by Belgium's Justine Henin and Serbia's Anna Ivanovic.