List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

"List of WTA number 1 ranked tennis players" redirects here. For doubles players, see List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players.

This page is about WTA number 1 rankings since 1975. For the all-time list, see World number 1 ranked female tennis players.

Iga Świątek, currently ranked No. 1 in women's singles.

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 15 have been year-end No. 1.

Iga Świątek is the current singles world No. 1.

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).

Steffi Graf spent 377 weeks at the top of the WTA ranking, the most of any female player.

First-time No. 1 player. WTA rankings record. Current World No. 1 (weeks are automatically updated).

No.	Player	Start date	End date	Weeks	Total
1	Evert, ChrisChris Evert (USA)	Nov 3, 1975	Apr 25, 1976	25	25
2	Goolagong Cawley, EvonneEvonne Goolagong Cawley (AUS)	Apr 26, 1976	May 9, 1976	2	2
	Evert. Chris Evert (2)	May 10, 1976	Jul 9, 1978	113	138
3	Navratilova, MartinaMartina Navratilova (USA)	Jul 10, 1978	Jan 13, 1979	26	26
	Evert. Chris Evert (3)	Jan 14, 1979	Jan 27, 1979	2	140
	Navratilova. Martina Navratilova (2)	Jan 28, 1979	Feb 24, 1979	4	30
	Evert. Chris Evert (4)	Feb 25, 1979	Apr 15, 1979	7	147
	Navratilova. Martina Navratilova (3)	Apr 16, 1979	Jun 24, 1979	10	40
	Evert. Chris Evert (5)	Jun 25, 1979	Sep 9, 1979	11	158
	Navratilova. Martina Navratilova (4)	Sep 10, 1979	Apr 6, 1980	31	71
4	Austin, TracyTracy Austin (USA)	Apr 7, 1980	Apr 20, 1980	2	2
	Navratilova. Martina Navratilova (5)	Apr 21, 1980	Jul 6, 1980	11	82
	Austin. Tracy Austin (2)	Jul 7, 1980	Nov 17, 1980	19	21
	Evert. Chris Evert (6)	Nov 18, 1980	May 2, 1982	76	234
	Navratilova. Martina Navratilova (6)	May 3, 1982	May 16, 1982	2	84
	Evert. Chris Evert (7)	May 17, 1982	Jun 13, 1982	4	238
	Navratilova. Martina Navratilova (7)	Jun 14, 1982	Jun 9, 1985	156	240
	Evert. Chris Evert (8)	Jun 10, 1985	Oct 13, 1985	18	256
	Navratilova. Martina Navratilova (8)	Oct 14, 1985	Oct 27, 1985	2	242
	Evert. Chris Evert (9)	Oct 28, 1985	Nov 24, 1985	4	260
	Navratilova. Martina Navratilova (9)	Nov 25, 1985	Aug 16, 1987	90	332
5	Graf, SteffiSteffi Graf (FRG)	Aug 17, 1987	Mar 10, 1991	186	186
6	Seles, MonicaMonica Seles (YUG)	Mar 11, 1991	Aug 4, 1991	21	21
	Graf. Steffi Graf (2)	Aug 5, 1991	Aug 11, 1991	1	187
	Seles. Monica Seles (2)	Aug 12, 1991	Aug 18, 1991	1	22
	Graf. Steffi Graf (3)	Aug 19, 1991	Sep 8, 1991	3	190
	Seles. / Monica Seles (3)	Sep 9, 1991	Jun 6, 1993	91	113
	Graf. Steffi Graf (4)	Jun 7, 1993	Feb 5, 1995	87	277
7	Sánchez Vicario, ArantxaArantxa Sánchez Vicario (ESP)	Feb 6, 1995	Feb 19, 1995	2	2
	Graf. Steffi Graf (5)	Feb 20, 1995	Feb 26, 1995	1	278
	Sánchez. Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (2)	Feb 27, 1995	Apr 9, 1995	6	8
	Graf. Steffi Graf (6)	Apr 10, 1995	May 14, 1995	5	283
	Sánchez. Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (3)	May 15, 1995	Jun 11, 1995	4	12
	Graf. Steffi Graf (7)	Jun 12, 1995	Aug 14, 1995	9	292
	Graf. Steffi Graf (7)	Aug 15, 1995	Nov 3, 1996	64	356
	Seles. Monica Seles (4)	Aug 15, 1995	Nov 3, 1996	64	177
	Graf. Steffi Graf (7)	Nov 4, 1996	Nov 17, 1996	2	358
	Graf. Steffi Graf (7)	Nov 18, 1996	Nov 24, 1996	1	359
	Seles. Monica Seles (5)	Nov 18, 1996	Nov 24, 1996	1	178
	Graf. Steffi Graf (7)	Nov 25, 1996	Mar 30, 1997	18	377
8	Hingis, MartinaMartina Hingis (SUI)	Mar 31, 1997	Oct 11, 1998	80	80
9	Davenport, LindsayLindsay Davenport (USA)	Oct 12, 1998	Feb 7, 1999	17	17
	Hingis. Martina Hingis (2)	Feb 8, 1999	Jul 4, 1999	21	101
	Davenport. Lindsay Davenport (2)	Jul 5, 1999	Aug 8, 1999	5	22
	Hingis. Martina Hingis (3)	Aug 9, 1999	Apr 2, 2000	34	135
	Davenport. Lindsay Davenport (3)	Apr 3, 2000	May 7, 2000	5	27
	Hingis. Martina Hingis (4)	May 8, 2000	May 14, 2000	1	136
	Davenport. Lindsay Davenport (4)	May 15, 2000	May 21, 2000	1	28
	Hingis. Martina Hingis (5)	May 22, 2000	Oct 14, 2001	73	209
10	Capriati, JenniferJennifer Capriati (USA)	Oct 15, 2001	Nov 4, 2001	3	3
	Davenport. Lindsay Davenport (5)	Nov 5, 2001	Jan 13, 2002	10	38
	Capriati. Jennifer Capriati (2)	Jan 14, 2002	Feb 24, 2002	6	9
11	Williams, VenusVenus Williams (USA)	Feb 25, 2002	Mar 17, 2002	3	3
	Capriati. Jennifer Capriati (3)	Mar 18, 2002	Apr 21, 2002	5	14
	Williams, Venus. Venus Williams (2)	Apr 22, 2002	May 19, 2002	4	7
	Capriati. Jennifer Capriati (4)	May 20, 2002	Jun 9, 2002	3	17
	Williams, Venus. Venus Williams (3)	Jun 10, 2002	Jul 7, 2002	4	11
12	Williams, SerenaSerena Williams (USA)	Jul 8, 2002	Aug 10, 2003	57	57
13	Clijsters, KimKim Clijsters (BEL)	Aug 11, 2003	Oct 19, 2003	10	10
14	Henin, JustineJustine Henin (BEL)	Oct 20, 2003	Oct 26, 2003	1	1
	Clijsters. Kim Clijsters (2)	Oct 27, 2003	Nov 9, 2003	2	12
	Henin. Justine Henin (2)	Nov 10, 2003	Sep 12, 2004	44	45
15	Mauresmo, AmélieAmélie Mauresmo (FRA)	Sep 13, 2004	Oct 17, 2004	5	5
	Davenport. Lindsay Davenport (6)	Oct 18, 2004	Aug 21, 2005	44	82
16	Sharapova, MariaMaria Sharapova (RUS)	Aug 22, 2005	Aug 28, 2005	1	1
	Davenport. Lindsay Davenport (7)	Aug 29, 2005	Sep 11, 2005	2	84
	Sharapova. Maria Sharapova (2)	Sep 12, 2005	Oct 23, 2005	6	7
	Davenport. Lindsay Davenport (8)	Oct 24, 2005	Jan 29, 2006	14	98
	Clijsters. Kim Clijsters (3)	Jan 30, 2006	Mar 19, 2006	7	19
	Mauresmo. Amélie Mauresmo (2)	Mar 20, 2006	Nov 12, 2006	34	39
	Henin. Justine Henin (3)	Nov 13, 2006	Jan 28, 2007	11	56
	Sharapova. Maria Sharapova (3)	Jan 29, 2007	Mar 18, 2007	7	14
	Henin. Justine Henin (4)	Mar 19, 2007	May 18, 2008	61	117
	Sharapova. Maria Sharapova (4)	May 19, 2008	Jun 8, 2008	3	17
17	Ivanovic, AnaAna Ivanovic (SRB)	Jun 9, 2008	Aug 10, 2008	9	9
18	Janković, JelenaJelena Janković (SRB)	Aug 11, 2008	Aug 17, 2008	1	1
	Ivanovic. Ana Ivanovic (2)	Aug 18, 2008	Sep 7, 2008	3	12
	Williams, Serena. Serena Williams (2)	Sep 8, 2008	Oct 5, 2008	4	61
	Janković. Jelena Janković (2)	Oct 6, 2008	Feb 1, 2009	17	18
	Williams, Serena. Serena Williams (3)	Feb 2, 2009	Apr 19, 2009	11	72
19	Safina, DinaraDinara Safina (RUS)	Apr 20, 2009	Oct 11, 2009	25	25
	Williams, Serena. Serena Williams (4)	Oct 12, 2009	Oct 25, 2009	2	74
	Safina. Dinara Safina (2)	Oct 26, 2009	Nov 1, 2009	1	26
	Williams, Serena. Serena Williams (5)	Nov 2, 2009	Oct 10, 2010	49	123
20	Wozniacki, CarolineCaroline Wozniacki (DEN)	Oct 11, 2010	Feb 13, 2011	18	18
	Clijsters. Kim Clijsters (4)	Feb 14, 2011	Feb 20, 2011	1	20
	Wozniacki. Caroline Wozniacki (2)	Feb 21, 2011	Jan 29, 2012	49	67
21	Azarenka, VictoriaVictoria Azarenka (BLR)	Jan 30, 2012	Jun 10, 2012	19	19
	Sharapova. Maria Sharapova (5)	Jun 11, 2012	Jul 8, 2012	4	21
	Azarenka. Victoria Azarenka (2)	Jul 9, 2012	Feb 17, 2013	32	51
	Williams, Serena. Serena Williams (6)	Feb 18, 2013	Sep 11, 2016	186	309
22	Kerber, AngeliqueAngelique Kerber (GER)	Sep 12, 2016	Jan 29, 2017	20	20
	Williams, Serena. Serena Williams (7)	Jan 30, 2017	Mar 19, 2017	7	316
	Kerber. Angelique Kerber (2)	Mar 20, 2017	Apr 23, 2017	5	25
	Williams, Serena. Serena Williams (8)	Apr 24, 2017	May 14, 2017	3	319
	Kerber. Angelique Kerber (3)	May 15, 2017	Jul 16, 2017	9	34
23	Plíšková, KarolínaKarolína Plíšková (CZE)	Jul 17, 2017	Sep 10, 2017	8	8
24	Muguruza, GarbiñeGarbiñe Muguruza (ESP)	Sep 11, 2017	Oct 8, 2017	4	4
25	Halep, SimonaSimona Halep (ROU)	Oct 9, 2017	Jan 28, 2018	16	16
	Wozniacki. Caroline Wozniacki (3)	Jan 29, 2018	Feb 25, 2018	4	71
	Halep. Simona Halep (2)	Feb 26, 2018	Jan 27, 2019	48	64
26	Osaka, NaomiNaomi Osaka (JPN)	Jan 28, 2019	Jun 23, 2019	21	21
27	Barty, AshleighAshleigh Barty (AUS)	Jun 24, 2019	Aug 11, 2019	7	7
	Osaka. Naomi Osaka (2)	Aug 12, 2019	Sep 8, 2019	4	25
	Barty. Ashleigh Barty (2)	Sep 9, 2019	Mar 22, 2020	28	35
	zz Rankings frozen	Mar 23, 2020	Aug 9, 2020	20
	Barty. Ashleigh Barty (2)	Aug 10, 2020	Apr 3, 2022	86	121
28	Świątek, IgaIga Świątek (POL)	Apr 4, 2022	Sep 10, 2023	75	75
29	Sabalenka. Sabalenka, ArynaAryna Sabalenka	Sep 11, 2023	Nov 5, 2023	8	8
	Świątek. Iga Świątek (2)	Nov 6, 2023	Present	1	76

Weeks at No. 1

Total

No.	Player	Weeks
1	Steffi Graf	377
2	/ Martina Navratilova	332
3	Serena Williams	319
4	Chris Evert	260
5	Martina Hingis	209
6	/ Monica Seles	178
7	Ashleigh Barty	121
8	Justine Henin	117
9	Iga Świątek	76
10	Lindsay Davenport	98
11	Caroline Wozniacki	71
12	Simona Halep	64
13	Victoria Azarenka	51
14	Amélie Mauresmo	39
15	Angelique Kerber	34
16	Dinara Safina	26
17	Naomi Osaka	25
18	Tracy Austin	21
18	Maria Sharapova	21
20	Kim Clijsters	20
21	Jelena Janković	18
22	Jennifer Capriati	17
23	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	12
23	Ana Ivanovic	12
25	Venus Williams	11
26	Karolína Plíšková	8
26	Aryna Sabalenka	8
28	Garbiñe Muguruza	4
29	Evonne Goolagong Cawley	2
	Active players – current No. 1 in bold.

Consecutive

No.	Player	Weeks
1	Steffi Graf	186
1	Serena Williams	186
3	Martina Navratilova	156
4	Ashleigh Barty	114
5	Chris Evert	113
6	Steffi Graf (2)	94
7	Monica Seles	91
8	Martina Navratilova (2)	90
9	Steffi Graf (3)	87
10	Martina Hingis	80
11	Chris Evert (2)	76
12	Iga Świątek	75
13	Martina Hingis (2)	73
14	Monica Seles (2)	64
15	Justine Henin	61
16	Serena Williams (2)	57
17	Serena Williams (3)	49
17	Caroline Wozniacki	49
19	Simona Halep	48
20	Justine Henin (2)	44
20	Lindsay Davenport	44
	Current streak in bold.

Weeks are updated automatically.
The source for this through the week of January 2, 2012, is the 2012 WTA Tour Official Guide, page 177.

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, 7 months	377

Current record in bold.

No. 1 leaders timeline

Year-end No. 1 players

The source for this through to 2012 is the 2012 WTA Tour Official Guide, page 178.

By year

Year	Player
1975	Chris Evert (USA)
1976	Chris Evert (2)
1977^*	Chris Evert (3)
1978	Martina Navratilova (USA)
1979	Martina Navratilova (2)
1980	Chris Evert (4)
1981^*	Chris Evert (5)
1982	Martina Navratilova (3)
1983^*	Martina Navratilova (4)
1984^*	Martina Navratilova (5)
1985	Martina Navratilova (6)
1986^*	Martina Navratilova (7)
1987	Steffi Graf (FRG)
1988^*	Steffi Graf (2)
1989^*	Steffi Graf (3)
1990^*	Steffi Graf (4)
1991	Monica Seles (YUG)
1992^*	Monica Seles (2)
1993	Steffi Graf (5)
1994^*	Steffi Graf (6)
1995	Steffi Graf (7) Monica Seles (3)
1996^*	Steffi Graf (8)
1997	Martina Hingis (SUI)
1998	Lindsay Davenport (USA)
1999	Martina Hingis (2)

By year (continued)

Year	Player
2000	Martina Hingis (3)
2001	Lindsay Davenport (2)
2002	Serena Williams (USA)
2003	Justine Henin (BEL)
2004	Lindsay Davenport (3)
2005	Lindsay Davenport (4)
2006	Justine Henin (2)
2007	Justine Henin (3)
2008	Jelena Janković (SRB)
2009	Serena Williams (2)
2010	Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)
2011	Caroline Wozniacki (2)
2012	Victoria Azarenka (BLR)
2013	Serena Williams (3)
2014^*	Serena Williams (4)
2015^*	Serena Williams (5)
2016	Angelique Kerber (GER)
2017	Simona Halep (ROU)
2018	Simona Halep (2)
2019	Ashleigh Barty (AUS)
2020^*	Ashleigh Barty (2)
2021^*	Ashleigh Barty (3)
2022	Iga Świątek (POL)
2023	Iga Świątek (2)
2024

*	Player was ranked No. 1 throughout the calendar year.

Per player

No.	Total
8	Steffi Graf
7	Martina Navratilova
5	Chris Evert
5	Serena Williams
4	Lindsay Davenport
3	/ Monica Seles
	Martina Hingis
	Justine Henin
	Ashleigh Barty
2	Caroline Wozniacki
	Simona Halep
	Iga Świątek
1	Jelena Janković
	Victoria Azarenka
	Angelique Kerber

No.	Consecutive
5	Martina Navratilova
4	Steffi Graf (x2)
3	Chris Evert
	Serena Williams
	Ashleigh Barty
2	Martina Navratilova
	Chris Evert
	Monica Seles
	Martina Hingis
	Lindsay Davenport
	Justine Henin
	Caroline Wozniacki
	Simona Halep
	Iga Świątek

Players who became No. 1 without having won a Grand Slam tournament 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, 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, still active)

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
Time span	Player	Date	Age	Date	Age
14 years, 310 days	Williams, S Serena Williams	Jul 8, 2002	20 years, 285 days	May 14, 2017	35 years, 230 days
10 years, 21 days	Evert Chris Evert	Nov 3, 1975	20 years, 317 days	Nov 24, 1985	30 years, 338 days
9 years, 225 days	Graf Steffi Graf	Aug 17, 1987	18 years, 64 days	Mar 30, 1997	27 years, 289 days
9 years, 37 days	Navratilova Martina Navratilova	Jul 10, 1978	21 years, 265 days	Aug 16, 1987	30 years, 302 days
7 years, 193 days	Clijsters Kim Clijsters	Aug 11, 2003	20 years, 64 days	Feb 20, 2011	27 years, 257 days
7 years, 137 days	Wozniacki Caroline Wozniacki	Oct 11, 2010	20 years, 92 days	Feb 25, 2018	27 years, 229 days
7 years, 109 days	Davenport Lindsay Davenport	Oct 12, 1998	22 years, 126 days	Jan 29, 2006	29 years, 235 days
6 years, 321 days	Sharapova Maria Sharapova	Aug 22, 2005	18 years, 125 days	Jul 8, 2012	25 years, 80 days
5 years, 258 days	Seles Monica Seles	Mar 11, 1991	17 years, 99 days	Nov 24, 1996	22 years, 358 days
4 years, 211 days	Henin Justine Henin	Oct 20, 2003	21 years, 141 days	May 18, 2008	25 years, 352 days
4 years, 197 days	Hingis Martina Hingis	Mar 31, 1997	16 years, 182 days	Oct 14, 2001	21 years, 14 days
2 years, 283 days	Barty Ashleigh Barty	Jun 24, 2019	23 years, 61 days	Apr 3, 2022	25 years, 344 days
2 years, 60 days	Mauresmo Amélie Mauresmo	Sep 13, 2004	25 years, 70 days	Nov 12, 2006	27 years, 130 days
2 years, 261 days	Świątek Iga Świątek	Apr 4, 2022	20 years, 308 days	December 21, 2024	23 years, 204 days
1 year, 110 days	Halep Simona Halep	Oct 9, 2017	26 years, 12 days	Jan 27, 2019	27 years, 122 days
1 year, 18 days	Azarenka Victoria Azarenka	Jan 30, 2012	22 years, 183 days	Feb 17, 2013	23 years, 201 days
307 days	Kerber Angelique Kerber	Sep 12, 2016	28 years, 238 days	Jul 16, 2017	29 years, 179 days
237 days	Capriati Jennifer Capriati	Oct 15, 2001	25 years, 200 days	Jun 9, 2002	26 years, 72 days
224 days	Austin Tracy Austin	Apr 7, 1980	17 years, 117 days	Nov 17, 1980	17 years, 341 days
223 days	Osaka Naomi Osaka	Jan 28, 2019	21 years, 104 days	Sep 8, 2019	21 years, 327 days
195 days	Safina Dinara Safina	Apr 20, 2009	22 years, 358 days	Nov 1, 2009	23 years, 188 days
174 days	Janković Jelena Janković	Aug 11, 2008	23 years, 165 days	Feb 1, 2009	23 years, 339 days
132 days	Williams, V Venus Williams	Feb 25, 2002	21 years, 253 days	Jul 7, 2002	22 years, 20 days
125 days	Sánchez Vicario Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	Feb 6, 1995	23 years, 50 days	Jun 11, 1995	23 years, 175 days
90 days	Ivanovic Ana Ivanovic	Jun 9, 2008	20 years, 216 days	Sep 7, 2008	20 years, 306 days
55 days	Plíšková Karolína Plíšková	Jul 17, 2017	25 years, 118 days	Sep 10, 2017	25 years, 173 days
55 days	Sabalenka Aryna Sabalenka	Sep 11, 2023	25 years, 129 days	Nov 5, 2023	25 years, 184 days
27 days	Muguruza Garbiñe Muguruza	Sep 11, 2017	23 years, 338 days	Oct 8, 2017	24 years, 0 days
13 days	Goolagong Cawley 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

158

Evert

57	Navratilova

2	Goolagong Cawley

1980s

275	Navratilova

124

Graf

102

Evert

Austin

1990s

253

Graf

178

Seles

122

Hingis

Davenport

12	Sánchez Vicario

2000s

117

Henin

Hingis

83	S Williams

17	Capriati, Sharapova

Ivanovic

11	V Williams

2010s

236	S Williams

4	Muguruza, Sharapova