List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players
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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 singles 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, 29 women have been ranked No. 1 in singles by the WTA, of which 16 have been year-end No. 1.[1]
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Aryna Sabalenka is the current singles world No. 1.
WTA No. 1 ranked singles players
Summarize
Perspective
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).[2][3]
First-time No. 1 player. (in bold)
‡ WTA rankings record.
* Current World No. 1 (weeks are automatically updated).
| 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 (FRG) |
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 | Apr 3, 2022 | 86 | 121 | |
| 28 |  Iga Świątek (POL) |
Apr 4, 2022 | Sep 10, 2023 | 75 | 75 |
| 29 |  Aryna Sabalenka[a] |
Sep 11, 2023 | Nov 5, 2023 | 8 | 8 |
| Iga Świątek (2) |
Nov 6, 2023 | Oct 20, 2024 | 50 | 125 | |
| Aryna Sabalenka*[a] (2) |
Oct 21, 2024 | Present | 18 | 26 | |
- 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.[4]
Weeks at No. 1
Summarize
Perspective
* Current No. 1 player (weeks are automatically updated).
Active players in bold.
Weeks are updated automatically.[6][7]
The source for this through the week of January 2, 2012, is the 2012 WTA Tour Official Guide, page 177.[2]
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 | 28 days | 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 | 28 years, 8 months | 377 |
Current record in bold.
No. 1 leaders timeline
Year-end No. 1 players
Summarize
Perspective
The source for this through to 2012 is the 2012 WTA Tour Official Guide, page 178.[2]
* Player was ranked No. 1 throughout the entire calendar year.
By year
|
By year (continued)
|
Per player
|
|
Players who became No. 1 before having won a major tournament
| 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, retired in 2022) |
| 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, still active) |
| 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, retired in 2025) |
Time span between first and last dates No. 1 was held
Current No. 1 player (date and age are updated automatically).
- Active players and age records indicated in bold.
| Time span | Player | First held No. 1 | Last held No. 1 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Age | Date | Age | ||
| 14 years, 310 days | Serena Williams |
Jul 8, 2002 | 20 years, 285 days | May 14, 2017 | 35 years, 230 days |
| 10 years, 21 days | Chris Evert |
Nov 3, 1975 | 20 years, 317 days | Nov 24, 1985 | 30 years, 338 days |
| 9 years, 225 days | Steffi Graf |
Aug 17, 1987 | 18 years, 64 days | Mar 30, 1997 | 27 years, 289 days |
| 9 years, 37 days | Martina Navratilova |
Jul 10, 1978 | 21 years, 265 days | Aug 16, 1987 | 30 years, 302 days |
| 7 years, 193 days | Kim Clijsters |
Aug 11, 2003 | 20 years, 64 days | Feb 20, 2011 | 27 years, 257 days |
| 7 years, 137 days | Caroline Wozniacki |
Oct 11, 2010 | 20 years, 92 days | Feb 25, 2018 | 27 years, 229 days |
| 7 years, 109 days | Lindsay Davenport |
Oct 12, 1998 | 22 years, 126 days | Jan 29, 2006 | 29 years, 235 days |
| 6 years, 321 days | Maria Sharapova |
Aug 22, 2005 | 18 years, 125 days | Jul 8, 2012 | 25 years, 80 days |
| 5 years, 258 days | Monica Seles |
Mar 11, 1991 | 17 years, 99 days | Nov 24, 1996 | 22 years, 358 days |
| 4 years, 211 days | Justine Henin |
Oct 20, 2003 | 21 years, 141 days | May 18, 2008 | 25 years, 352 days |
| 4 years, 197 days | Martina Hingis |
Mar 31, 1997 | 16 years, 182 days | Oct 14, 2001 | 21 years, 14 days |
| 2 years, 283 days | Ashleigh Barty |
Jun 24, 2019 | 23 years, 61 days | Apr 3, 2022 | 25 years, 344 days |
| 2 years, 199 days | Iga Świątek |
Apr 4, 2022 | 20 years, 308 days | Oct 20, 2024 | 23 years, 142 days |
| 2 years, 60 days | Amélie Mauresmo |
Sep 13, 2004 | 25 years, 70 days | Nov 12, 2006 | 27 years, 130 days |
| 1 year, 162 days | Aryna Sabalenka |
Sep 11, 2023 | 25 years, 129 days | February 20, 2025 | 26 years, 291 days |
| 1 year, 110 days | Simona Halep |
Oct 9, 2017 | 26 years, 12 days | Jan 27, 2019 | 27 years, 122 days |
| 1 year, 18 days | Victoria Azarenka |
Jan 30, 2012 | 22 years, 183 days | Feb 17, 2013 | 23 years, 201 days |
| 307 days | Angelique Kerber |
Sep 12, 2016 | 28 years, 238 days | Jul 16, 2017 | 29 years, 179 days |
| 237 days | Jennifer Capriati |
Oct 15, 2001 | 25 years, 200 days | Jun 9, 2002 | 26 years, 72 days |
| 224 days | Tracy Austin |
Apr 7, 1980 | 17 years, 117 days | Nov 17, 1980 | 17 years, 341 days |
| 223 days | Naomi Osaka |
Jan 28, 2019 | 21 years, 104 days | Sep 8, 2019 | 21 years, 327 days |
| 195 days | Dinara Safina |
Apr 20, 2009 | 22 years, 358 days | Nov 1, 2009 | 23 years, 188 days |
| 174 days | Jelena Janković |
Aug 11, 2008 | 23 years, 165 days | Feb 1, 2009 | 23 years, 339 days |
| 132 days | Venus Williams |
Feb 25, 2002 | 21 years, 253 days | Jul 7, 2002 | 22 years, 20 days |
| 125 days | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario |
Feb 6, 1995 | 23 years, 50 days | Jun 11, 1995 | 23 years, 175 days |
| 90 days | Ana Ivanovic |
Jun 9, 2008 | 20 years, 216 days | Sep 7, 2008 | 20 years, 306 days |
| 55 days | Karolína Plíšková |
Jul 17, 2017 | 25 years, 118 days | Sep 10, 2017 | 25 years, 173 days |
| 27 days | Garbiñe Muguruza |
Sep 11, 2017 | 23 years, 338 days | Oct 8, 2017 | 24 years, 0 days |
| 13 days | Evonne Goolagong Cawley |
Apr 26, 1976 | 24 years, 270 days | May 9, 1976 | 24 years, 283 days |
Weeks at No. 1 by decade
- Current No. 1 player indicated in italic.
1970s** — Starting November 1975
1980s
1990s
2000s
|
2010s
2020sWTA rankings were frozen from March 23, 2020 to August 9, 2020.
|
Weeks at No. 1 by country
- Current No. 1 player indicated in bold.
| Weeks | Country | Players |
|---|---|---|
| 1,123 |  United States | Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Tracy Austin, Monica Seles*, Lindsay Davenport, Jennifer Capriati, Venus Williams, Serena Williams |
| 411 | Germany | Steffi Graf, Angelique Kerber |
| 209 |  Switzerland | Martina Hingis |
| 143 | // Yugoslavia/Serbia | Monica Seles*, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Janković |
| 137 | Belgium | Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin |
| 125 | Poland | Iga Świątek |
| 123 | Australia | Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Ashleigh Barty |
| 71 | Denmark | Caroline Wozniacki |
| 64 | Romania | Simona Halep |
| 51 | Belarus[a] | Victoria Azarenka |
| 47 | Russia | Maria Sharapova, Dinara Safina |
| 39 | France | Amélie Mauresmo |
| 25 | Japan | Naomi Osaka |
| 16 | Spain | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Garbiñe Muguruza |
| 8 | Czech Republic | 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
- Top ten ranked female tennis players
- Top ten ranked female tennis players (1921–1974)
- List of highest ranked tennis players per country
Notes
- On 1 March 2022, the WTA announced that until further notice, players from Russia and Belarus would not be allowed to compete under the name or flag of Russia or Belarus following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Aryna Sabalenka thus competed under no nationality during this time and her tenure as number 1 is not attributed to Belarus in the "Weeks at No. 1 by country" table.[5]
References
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