Aug. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Maria Sharapova will enter the U.S. Open as the top-ranked women's tennis player after passing Lindsay Davenport in the Women's Tennis Association rankings.

Sharapova, 18, today usurped Davenport to become the first Russian woman rated No. 1. She missed the chance to take top spot last week after withdrawing from the JPMorgan Chase Open on Aug. 12 because of a strained pectoral muscle.

``When you look at the incredible competitiveness and depth in women's tennis these days, it's really amazing to be No. 1,'' Sharapova said in a WTA Tour statement. ``I want to represent women's tennis with the same class and style as the other great players.''

With the U.S. Open draw scheduled in two days, Sharapova will be top-seeded at a Grand Slam for the first time. Organizers of the year's final major, which begins Aug. 29 in New York, said last month that seedings will be based on this week's rankings.

Sharapova, who skipped the Rogers Cup in Toronto won yesterday by Kim Clijsters, is the 15th No. 1 since the WTA Tour introduced computer rankings in November 1975. Clijsters's victory lifted her four places to world No. 4.

Sharapova, a 6-foot Siberian, last year beat Serena Williams in the Wimbledon final to become the second-youngest women's singles champion in the Open era, at the age of 17.

She's won three tournaments and $1.2 million prize money in 2005 and will also earn at least $15 million off the court this year from endorsement contracts with companies including Nike Inc., Motorola Inc. and Colgate-Palmolive Co., according to SportBusiness International Magazine.

``Maria's fantastic play, commercial success and ability to serve as a great role model is helping to propel women's tennis to new highs in popularity,'' said Larry Scott, chief executive of the WTA Tour.

LIST OF WTA NO. 1 SINGLES RANKING HOLDERS

Player                   Total weeks at No. 1
Steffi Graf                   377 weeks
Martina Navratilova           331 weeks
Chris Evert                   262 weeks
Martina Hingis                209 weeks
Monica Seles                  178 weeks
Lindsay Davenport              82 weeks
Serena Williams                57 weeks
Justine Henin-Hardenne         45 weeks
Tracy Austin                   22 weeks
Jennifer Capriati              17 weeks
Kim Clijsters                  12 weeks
Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario        12 weeks
Venus Williams                 11 weeks
Amelie Mauresmo                 5 weeks
Maria Sharapova                 1 week

To contact the reporter on this story: Dan Baynes in Sydney dbaynes@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 22, 2005 10:55 EDT