Andy Roddick, retired since September, moves up in ATP rankings (UPDATED)

Lounging in retirement, Andy Roddick is up to No. 40 in this week’s rankings. (JC Salas/Icon SMI)

Andy Roddick is rocking retirement so hard that he’s actually on the rise in the ATP rankings.

Roddick’s ranking remains active because he didn’t file retirement papers after playing his farewell match at the U.S. Open in September. So it was hard not chuckle when the tour released its weekly rankings on Monday and, lo and behold, Roddick actually moved up two spots to No. 40. All without playing a match in five-and-a-half months. Now that takes some skill.

Congrats @andyroddick, who climbs 2 spots to return to the top 40 after retiring at the US Open 5 months ago. #chucknorrisoftennis—
James LaRosa (@JamesLaRosa) February 18, 2013

Great to see the retired Andy Roddick moving up the rankings from No. 42 to No. 40. Top 10 by September? atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Players…—
Tom Perrotta (@TomPerrotta) February 18, 2013

Roddick is obviously not accumulating any points at the moment, so his bump came because two players ranked ahead of him last week slipped after losing points in a system that measures performance over a one-year period. Viktor Troicki, a Rotterdam quarterfinalist last year, lost in the first round this year, dropping two spots from No. 40 to No. 42; and Nikolay Davydenko, a Rotterdam semifinalist last year, lost in the second round, falling six spots from No. 37 to No. 43.

As long as his ranking stays active, Roddick won’t take much of a tumble until the summer. Of his 970 points, 845 were accumulated after the French Open.

UPDATE: USA Today Sports reports that Roddick’s days as a top-40 player are numbered:

Just heard that Roddick has filed his retirement papers … He will be out of the rankings next week. —
Joe Fleming (@ByJoeFleming) February 19, 2013