The Indian ace, who attained a career-best No 1 after winning the India Open at the end of March, dropped a rung in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings, released on Thursday.
Defeat in the semi-finals of the Malaysia Open Super Series Premier to reigning Olympic champion Li Xuerui of China saw the London Olympics bronze medallist drop to No 2.
While Xuerui took over the No 1 ranking, while Carolina Marin of Denmark is at No 3.
P V Sindhu, who is out of action following an injury, is at No 9.
In the men's singles, Kidambi Srikanth stayed put at No.4. He is the highest-ranked Indian male.
H S Prannoy has also remained at No.14, while Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap climbed two rungs and is placed at 15.
The 2010 Commonwealth Games gold-medallist women’s doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa gained a place to No. 18.
- Check out the BWF World Rankings
Image: Saina Nehwal competes against China's Li Xuerui during their women's singles semi-final at the 2015 Malaysia Open Badminton Super Series in Kuala Lumpur, April 4, 2015.
Photograph: Olivia Harris/Reuters