PARIS — Maria Sharapova's short stay atop the rankings will end after the French Open.

Sharapova moved up from No. 2 when Justine Henin suddenly retired last month. After losing in the fourth round at Roland Garros, Sharapova will drop back down and there will be a new No. 1 — current No. 2 Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, No. 3 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia or No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia.

None of those three ever has won the French Open or been ranked No. 1.

The simplest scenario: If one wins the championship Saturday, she will take over the top spot when the new rankings are released Monday. Otherwise, either Ivanovic or Jankovic would become No. 1 by losing to anyone other than Kuznetsova in the final.

Ivanovic plays Jankovic in the semifinals Thursday, while Kuznetsova faces 49th-ranked Kaia Kanepi in the quarterfinals Wednesday.

"At the end of the day, rankings take care of themselves," Ivanovic said. "If you play well, if you're winning, the rankings come."

Jankovic, in contrast, made quite clear that sitting atop the rankings would mean a lot to her.

"My dream is to become No. 1 in the world, and now I'm very close," she said. "So I will try my best, and hopefully I can do it."