Martina Hingis [Images] vaulted back into the world's top 20 on Monday for the first time since quitting the sport in 2002.

The Swiss former world number one and five-times Grand Slam singles champion re-entered the upper echelon of women's tennis at number 14 following victory in the Italian Open on Sunday.

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The 25-year-old's 6-2, 7-5 win over Dinara Safina at Rome's Foro Italico marked her first title since February 2002 when she beat Monica Seles [Images] to triumph in Tokyo.

Later that year Hingis quit the sport, plagued by chronic foot and ankle injuries.

She made a tentative return to the women's tour in 2005, playing one tournament in Pattaya, Thailand, before launching a full comeback at the beginning of this year.

Ranked 9,999 by the WTA Tour at the end of 2005, her progress in the first five months of the year has been rapid.

She reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open in January, a tournament she won three times in six finals at the height of her powers, and reached the final in Tokyo soon after.

Sunday's triumph in Rome capped her return to the top, marked her 41st singles title and underlined her status as a candidate for the French Open later this month -- the only grand slam crown to elude her.

France's [Images] Amelie Mauresmo topped the women's rankings issued on Monday with Belgium's Kim Clijsters [Images] in second spot ahead of Russians Nadia Petrova and Maria Sharapova [Images]. Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne completes the top five.

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