Laura Robson rises up rankings as Roger Federer falls to 10-year low point

The British number one moves up to 27th in the world

Laura Robson becomes the first British woman in the top 30 since Jo Durie in 1987 (Getty images)

Laura Robson’s journey to the fourth round of Wimbledon has resulted in her moving up to 27th in the world rankings – the first time a British woman has been inside the top 30 since 1987. Meanwhile Roger Federer has dropped to world No 5, his lowest position in a decade.

Robson, 19, began the tournament ranked 38th, but wins over Maria Kirilenko, Mariana Duque-Marino and Marina Erakovic resulted in her rise of 11 places. The British No 2, Heather Watson, has dropped 12 places to 68th in the world after her first-round defeat at Wimbledon.

The last British woman to occupy a top-30 spot was Jo Durie, whose highest ranking was world No 5, attained in 1984.

Serena Williams is still world No 1 despite her defeat by losing finalist Sabine Lisicki in the fourth round. Marion Bartoli rises eight places to seventh after she won the women’s title.

Federer has not been as low as fifth in the world since 23 June 2003, two weeks before he won the first of his seven Wimbledon titles.

The Swiss player lost in the second round to Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine, to prompt some tennis observers to ponder whether he would add to his 17 Grand Slam titles.

John McEnroe, who won three Wimbledon titles, does not believe Federer will win another major. He said: “I don’t think that’s going to happen. I don’t think he’s going to win any more majors. But he might think ‘That McEnroe, I’ll show him’.”

Novak Djokovic remains world No 1, despite losing to world No 2 Andy Murray in the Wimbledon final. David Ferrer is ranked third and Rafa Nadal, who was a shock first-round loser at Wimbledon, rounds out the top four.