List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players
The WTA rankings are the Women's Tennis Association's (WTA) merit-based system for determining the rankings in women's tennis. The top-ranked player is the player who, over the previous 52 weeks, has garnered the most ranking points on the WTA Tour. Points are awarded based on how far a player advances in tournaments and the category of those tournaments. The WTA has used a computerized system for determining the rankings since November 3, 1975. Since 1975, 27 women have been ranked No. 1 by the WTA, of which 14 have been year-end No. 1. The current world number one is Ashleigh Barty of Australia.
WTA No. 1 ranked singles players[]
The rankings are sourced by the WTA Media Guide and the WTA website (which usually revises its rankings every Sunday night or Monday morning, except when tournament finals are postponed).[1][2]
No. | Player | Start date | End date | Weeks | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Chris Evert (USA) | Nov 3, 1975 | Apr 25, 1976 | 25 | 25 |
2 | Evonne Goolagong Cawley (AUS) | Apr 26, 1976 | May 9, 1976 | 2 | 2 |
Chris Evert (2) | May 10, 1976 | Jul 9, 1978 | 113 | 138 | |
3 | Martina Navratilova (USA) | Jul 10, 1978 | Jan 13, 1979 | 26 | 26 |
Chris Evert (3) | Jan 14, 1979 | Jan 27, 1979 | 2 | 140 | |
Martina Navratilova (2) | Jan 28, 1979 | Feb 24, 1979 | 4 | 30 | |
Chris Evert (4) | Feb 25, 1979 | Apr 15, 1979 | 7 | 147 | |
Martina Navratilova (3) | Apr 16, 1979 | Jun 24, 1979 | 10 | 40 | |
Chris Evert (5) | Jun 25, 1979 | Sep 9, 1979 | 11 | 158 | |
Martina Navratilova (4) | Sep 10, 1979 | Apr 6, 1980 | 31 | 71 | |
4 | Tracy Austin (USA) | Apr 7, 1980 | Apr 20, 1980 | 2 | 2 |
Martina Navratilova (5) | Apr 21, 1980 | Jul 6, 1980 | 11 | 82 | |
Tracy Austin (2) | Jul 7, 1980 | Nov 17, 1980 | 19 | 21 | |
Chris Evert (6) | Nov 18, 1980 | May 2, 1982 | 76 | 234 | |
Martina Navratilova (6) | May 3, 1982 | May 16, 1982 | 2 | 84 | |
Chris Evert (7) | May 17, 1982 | Jun 13, 1982 | 4 | 238 | |
Martina Navratilova (7) | Jun 14, 1982 | Jun 9, 1985 | 156 | 240 | |
Chris Evert (8) | Jun 10, 1985 | Oct 13, 1985 | 18 | 256 | |
Martina Navratilova (8) | Oct 14, 1985 | Oct 27, 1985 | 2 | 242 | |
Chris Evert (9) | Oct 28, 1985 | Nov 24, 1985 | 4 | 260 | |
Martina Navratilova (9) | Nov 25, 1985 | Aug 16, 1987 | 90 | 332 | |
5 | Steffi Graf (GER) | Aug 17, 1987 | Mar 10, 1991 | 186 | 186 |
6 | Monica Seles (YUG) | Mar 11, 1991 | Aug 4, 1991 | 21 | 21 |
Steffi Graf (2) | Aug 5, 1991 | Aug 11, 1991 | 1 | 187 | |
Monica Seles (2) | Aug 12, 1991 | Aug 18, 1991 | 1 | 22 | |
Steffi Graf (3) | Aug 19, 1991 | Sep 8, 1991 | 3 | 190 | |
/ Monica Seles[n 1] (3) | Sep 9, 1991 | Jun 6, 1993 | 91 | 113 | |
Steffi Graf (4) | Jun 7, 1993 | Feb 5, 1995 | 87 | 277 | |
7 | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (ESP) | Feb 6, 1995 | Feb 19, 1995 | 2 | 2 |
Steffi Graf (5) | Feb 20, 1995 | Feb 26, 1995 | 1 | 278 | |
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (2) | Feb 27, 1995 | Apr 9, 1995 | 6 | 8 | |
Steffi Graf (6) | Apr 10, 1995 | May 14, 1995 | 5 | 283 | |
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (3) | May 15, 1995 | Jun 11, 1995 | 4 | 12 | |
Steffi Graf (7) | Jun 12, 1995 | Aug 14, 1995 | 9 | 292 | |
Steffi Graf (7) | Aug 15, 1995 | Nov 3, 1996 | 64 | 356 | |
Monica Seles[n 1] (4) | 177 | ||||
Steffi Graf (7) | Nov 4, 1996 | Nov 17, 1996 | 2 | 358 | |
Steffi Graf (7) | Nov 18, 1996 | Nov 24, 1996 | 1 | 359 | |
Monica Seles (5) | 178 | ||||
Steffi Graf (7) | Nov 25, 1996 | Mar 30, 1997 | 18 | 377 | |
8 | Martina Hingis (SUI) | Mar 31, 1997 | Oct 11, 1998 | 80 | 80 |
9 | Lindsay Davenport (USA) | Oct 12, 1998 | Feb 7, 1999 | 17 | 17 |
Martina Hingis (2) | Feb 8, 1999 | Jul 4, 1999 | 21 | 101 | |
Lindsay Davenport (2) | Jul 5, 1999 | Aug 8, 1999 | 5 | 22 | |
Martina Hingis (3) | Aug 9, 1999 | Apr 2, 2000 | 34 | 135 | |
Lindsay Davenport (3) | Apr 3, 2000 | May 7, 2000 | 5 | 27 | |
Martina Hingis (4) | May 8, 2000 | May 14, 2000 | 1 | 136 | |
Lindsay Davenport (4) | May 15, 2000 | May 21, 2000 | 1 | 28 | |
Martina Hingis (5) | May 22, 2000 | Oct 14, 2001 | 73 | 209 | |
10 | Jennifer Capriati (USA) | Oct 15, 2001 | Nov 4, 2001 | 3 | 3 |
Lindsay Davenport (5) | Nov 5, 2001 | Jan 13, 2002 | 10 | 38 | |
Jennifer Capriati (2) | Jan 14, 2002 | Feb 24, 2002 | 6 | 9 | |
11 | Venus Williams (USA) | Feb 25, 2002 | Mar 17, 2002 | 3 | 3 |
Jennifer Capriati (3) | Mar 18, 2002 | Apr 21, 2002 | 5 | 14 | |
Venus Williams (2) | Apr 22, 2002 | May 19, 2002 | 4 | 7 | |
Jennifer Capriati (4) | May 20, 2002 | Jun 9, 2002 | 3 | 17 | |
Venus Williams (3) | Jun 10, 2002 | Jul 7, 2002 | 4 | 11 | |
12 | Serena Williams (USA) | Jul 8, 2002 | Aug 10, 2003 | 57 | 57 |
13 | Kim Clijsters (BEL) | Aug 11, 2003 | Oct 19, 2003 | 10 | 10 |
14 | Justine Henin (BEL) | Oct 20, 2003 | Oct 26, 2003 | 1 | 1 |
Kim Clijsters (2) | Oct 27, 2003 | Nov 9, 2003 | 2 | 12 | |
Justine Henin (2) | Nov 10, 2003 | Sep 12, 2004 | 44 | 45 | |
15 | Amélie Mauresmo (FRA) | Sep 13, 2004 | Oct 17, 2004 | 5 | 5 |
Lindsay Davenport (6) | Oct 18, 2004 | Aug 21, 2005 | 44 | 82 | |
16 | Maria Sharapova (RUS) | Aug 22, 2005 | Aug 28, 2005 | 1 | 1 |
Lindsay Davenport (7) | Aug 29, 2005 | Sep 11, 2005 | 2 | 84 | |
Maria Sharapova (2) | Sep 12, 2005 | Oct 23, 2005 | 6 | 7 | |
Lindsay Davenport (8) | Oct 24, 2005 | Jan 29, 2006 | 14 | 98 | |
Kim Clijsters (3) | Jan 30, 2006 | Mar 19, 2006 | 7 | 19 | |
Amélie Mauresmo (2) | Mar 20, 2006 | Nov 12, 2006 | 34 | 39 | |
Justine Henin (3) | Nov 13, 2006 | Jan 28, 2007 | 11 | 56 | |
Maria Sharapova (3) | Jan 29, 2007 | Mar 18, 2007 | 7 | 14 | |
Justine Henin (4) | Mar 19, 2007 | May 18, 2008 | 61 | 117 | |
Maria Sharapova (4) | May 19, 2008 | Jun 8, 2008 | 3 | 17 | |
17 | Ana Ivanovic (SRB) | Jun 9, 2008 | Aug 10, 2008 | 9 | 9 |
18 | Jelena Janković (SRB) | Aug 11, 2008 | Aug 17, 2008 | 1 | 1 |
Ana Ivanovic (2) | Aug 18, 2008 | Sep 7, 2008 | 3 | 12 | |
Serena Williams (2) | Sep 8, 2008 | Oct 5, 2008 | 4 | 61 | |
Jelena Janković (2) | Oct 6, 2008 | Feb 1, 2009 | 17 | 18 | |
Serena Williams (3) | Feb 2, 2009 | Apr 19, 2009 | 11 | 72 | |
19 | Dinara Safina (RUS) | Apr 20, 2009 | Oct 11, 2009 | 25 | 25 |
Serena Williams (4) | Oct 12, 2009 | Oct 25, 2009 | 2 | 74 | |
Dinara Safina (2) | Oct 26, 2009 | Nov 1, 2009 | 1 | 26 | |
Serena Williams (5) | Nov 2, 2009 | Oct 10, 2010 | 49 | 123 | |
20 | Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) | Oct 11, 2010 | Feb 13, 2011 | 18 | 18 |
Kim Clijsters (4) | Feb 14, 2011 | Feb 20, 2011 | 1 | 20 | |
Caroline Wozniacki (2) | Feb 21, 2011 | Jan 29, 2012 | 49 | 67 | |
21 | Victoria Azarenka (BLR) | Jan 30, 2012 | Jun 10, 2012 | 19 | 19 |
Maria Sharapova (5) | Jun 11, 2012 | Jul 8, 2012 | 4 | 21 | |
Victoria Azarenka (2) | Jul 9, 2012 | Feb 17, 2013 | 32 | 51 | |
Serena Williams (6) | Feb 18, 2013 | Sep 11, 2016 | 186 | 309 | |
22 | Angelique Kerber (GER) | Sep 12, 2016 | Jan 29, 2017 | 20 | 20 |
Serena Williams (7) | Jan 30, 2017 | Mar 19, 2017 | 7 | 316 | |
Angelique Kerber (2) | Mar 20, 2017 | Apr 23, 2017 | 5 | 25 | |
Serena Williams (8) | Apr 24, 2017 | May 14, 2017 | 3 | 319 | |
Angelique Kerber (3) | May 15, 2017 | Jul 16, 2017 | 9 | 34 | |
23 | Karolína Plíšková (CZE) | Jul 17, 2017 | Sep 10, 2017 | 8 | 8 |
24 | Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP) | Sep 11, 2017 | Oct 8, 2017 | 4 | 4 |
25 | Simona Halep (ROU) | Oct 9, 2017 | Jan 28, 2018 | 16 | 16 |
Caroline Wozniacki (3) | Jan 29, 2018 | Feb 25, 2018 | 4 | 71 | |
Simona Halep (2) | Feb 26, 2018 | Jan 27, 2019 | 48 | 64 | |
26 | Naomi Osaka (JPN) | Jan 28, 2019 | Jun 23, 2019 | 21 | 21 |
27 | Ashleigh Barty (AUS) | Jun 24, 2019 | Aug 11, 2019 | 7 | 7 |
Naomi Osaka (2) | Aug 12, 2019 | Sep 8, 2019 | 4 | 25 | |
Ashleigh Barty (2) | Sep 9, 2019 | Mar 22, 2020 | 28 | 35 | |
Rankings frozen
|
Mar 23, 2020 | Aug 9, 2020 | 20 | ||
Ashleigh Barty (2) | Aug 10, 2020 | Present | 85 | 120 |
- Note
- ^ a b Monica Seles was stabbed by a spectator during a WTA tournament match on 30 April 1993; while ranked number one. When she returned to competition in 1995, the WTA decided to reinstate her alongside Graf as number one, with her ranking protected for a year until she had a full season of ranking points accrued.[3]
Weeks at No. 1[]
Weeks are updated automatically.[4][5]
The source for this through the week of January 2, 2012, is the 2012 WTA Tour Official Guide, page 177.[1]
Weeks at No. 1 leaders timeline[]
Year span | Leader | Date achieved | Duration | Record |
---|---|---|---|---|
1975–1985 | Chris Evert | 3 November 1975 | 9 years, 6 months | 238 |
1985–1985 | Martina Navratilova | 27 May 1985 | 0 months | 240 |
1985–1986 | Chris Evert | 24 June 1985 | 9 months | 260 |
1986–1996 | Martina Navratilova | 31 March 1986 | 10 years, 1 month | 332 |
1996–present | Steffi Graf | 21 May 1996 | 25 years, 10 months | 377 |
Current record in bold.
Year-end No. 1 players[]
The source for this through to 2012 is the 2012 WTA Tour Official Guide, page 178.[1]
By year[]
|
Per player[]Total[]
Consecutive[]
|
Players who became No. 1 without having won a Grand Slam title[]
Player | First ranked No. 1 | First Grand Slam final | First Grand Slam title |
---|---|---|---|
Kim Clijsters | August 11, 2003 | 2001 French Open (June 2001) (1st of 8) | 2005 US Open (1st of 4, still active) |
Amélie Mauresmo | September 13, 2004 | 1999 Australian Open (January 1999) (1st of 3) | 2006 Australian Open (1st of 2, retired in 2009) |
Jelena Janković | August 11, 2008 | 2008 US Open (September 2008) (only final) | None (retired in 2017) |
Dinara Safina | April 20, 2009 | 2008 French Open (June 2008) (1st of 3) | None (retired in 2014) |
Caroline Wozniacki | October 11, 2010 | 2009 US Open (September 2009) (1st of 3) | 2018 Australian Open (only title, retired in 2020) |
Karolína Plíšková | July 17, 2017 | 2016 US Open (September 2016) (1st of 2) | None (still active) |
Simona Halep | October 9, 2017 | 2014 French Open (June 2014) (1st of 5) | 2018 French Open (1st of 2, still active) |
Weeks at No. 1 by decade[]
1970s*[]* — Starting November 1975
1980s[]
1990s[]
2000s[]
|
2010s[]
2020s[]WTA rankings were frozen from March 23, 2020 to August 9, 2020.
|
Weeks at No. 1 by country[]
Rank | Country | Total | Players | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Players | Weeks | |||
1 | United States | 8 | 1,123 | Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Tracy Austin, Monica Seles*, Lindsay Davenport, Jennifer Capriati, Venus Williams, Serena Williams |
2 | Germany | 2 | 411 | Steffi Graf, Angelique Kerber |
3 | Switzerland | 1 | 209 | Martina Hingis |
4 | // Yugoslavia/Serbia | 3 | 143 | Monica Seles*, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Janković |
5 | Belgium | 2 | 137 | Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin |
6 | Australia | 2 | 122 | Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Ashleigh Barty |
7 | Denmark | 1 | 71 | Caroline Wozniacki |
8 | Romania | 1 | 64 | Simona Halep |
9 | Belarus | 1 | 51 | Victoria Azarenka |
10 | Russia | 2 | 47 | Maria Sharapova, Dinara Safina |
11 | France | 1 | 39 | Amélie Mauresmo |
12 | Japan | 1 | 25 | Naomi Osaka |
13 | Spain | 2 | 16 | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Garbiñe Muguruza |
14 | Czech Republic | 1 | 8 | Karolína Plíšková |
Weeks are updated automatically.
* Monica Seles is included twice due to change of citizenship.
See also[]
- World number 1 ranked female tennis players (includes rankings before 1975)
- ITF World Champions
- List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players
- List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players
- List of ATP number 1 ranked doubles tennis players
- Current WTA Rankings
- List of WTA players who were ranked number 5 or higher but never number 1
- Top ten ranked female tennis players
- Top ten ranked female tennis players (1921–1974)
- List of highest ranked tennis players per country
References[]
- ^ a b c "2012 WTA Media Guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 15, 2012.
- ^ "WTA Singles Rankings". Archived from the original on February 8, 2014. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
- ^ "Seles is back in the limelight". The Irish Times. June 26, 1996. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
- ^ "WTA Press Center – Weeks at No. 1". Archived from the original on November 3, 2012.
- ^ "WTA Notes & Netcords". Archived from the original on January 17, 2012.
- WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players
- Tennis rankings
- Lists of female tennis players