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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 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).[1][2]

No. | Player | Start date | End date | Weeks | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
Nov 3, 1975 | Apr 25, 1976 | 25 | 25 |
2 | ![]() |
Apr 26, 1976 | May 9, 1976 | 2 | 2 |
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May 10, 1976 | Jul 9, 1978 | 113 | 138 | |
3 | ![]() |
Jul 10, 1978 | Jan 13, 1979 | 26 | 26 |
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Jan 14, 1979 | Jan 27, 1979 | 2 | 140 | |
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Jan 28, 1979 | Feb 24, 1979 | 4 | 30 | |
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Feb 25, 1979 | Apr 15, 1979 | 7 | 147 | |
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Apr 16, 1979 | Jun 24, 1979 | 10 | 40 | |
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Jun 25, 1979 | Sep 9, 1979 | 11 | 158 | |
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Sep 10, 1979 | Apr 6, 1980 | 31 | 71 | |
4 | ![]() |
Apr 7, 1980 | Apr 20, 1980 | 2 | 2 |
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Apr 21, 1980 | Jul 6, 1980 | 11 | 82 | |
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Jul 7, 1980 | Nov 17, 1980 | 19 | 21 | |
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Nov 18, 1980 | May 2, 1982 | 76 | 234 | |
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May 3, 1982 | May 16, 1982 | 2 | 84 | |
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May 17, 1982 | Jun 13, 1982 | 4 | 238 | |
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Jun 14, 1982 | Jun 9, 1985 | 156 | 240 | |
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Jun 10, 1985 | Oct 13, 1985 | 18 | 256 | |
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Oct 14, 1985 | Oct 27, 1985 | 2 | 242 | |
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Oct 28, 1985 | Nov 24, 1985 | 4 | 260 | |
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Nov 25, 1985 | Aug 16, 1987 | 90 | 332 | |
5 | ![]() |
Aug 17, 1987 | Mar 10, 1991 | 186‡ | 186 |
6 | ![]() |
Mar 11, 1991 | Aug 4, 1991 | 21 | 21 |
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Aug 5, 1991 | Aug 11, 1991 | 1 | 187 | |
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Aug 12, 1991 | Aug 18, 1991 | 1 | 22 | |
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Aug 19, 1991 | Sep 8, 1991 | 3 | 190 | |
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Sep 9, 1991 | Jun 6, 1993 | 91 | 113 | |
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Jun 7, 1993 | Feb 5, 1995 | 87 | 277 | |
7 | ![]() |
Feb 6, 1995 | Feb 19, 1995 | 2 | 2 |
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Feb 20, 1995 | Feb 26, 1995 | 1 | 278 | |
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Feb 27, 1995 | Apr 9, 1995 | 6 | 8 | |
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Apr 10, 1995 | May 14, 1995 | 5 | 283 | |
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May 15, 1995 | Jun 11, 1995 | 4 | 12 | |
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Jun 12, 1995 | Aug 14, 1995 | 9 | 292 | |
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Aug 15, 1995 | Nov 3, 1996 | 64 | 356 | |
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177 | ||||
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Nov 4, 1996 | Nov 17, 1996 | 2 | 358 | |
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Nov 18, 1996 | Nov 24, 1996 | 1 | 359 | |
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178 | ||||
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Nov 25, 1996 | Mar 30, 1997 | 18 | 377‡ | |
8 | ![]() |
Mar 31, 1997 | Oct 11, 1998 | 80 | 80 |
9 | ![]() |
Oct 12, 1998 | Feb 7, 1999 | 17 | 17 |
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Feb 8, 1999 | Jul 4, 1999 | 21 | 101 | |
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Jul 5, 1999 | Aug 8, 1999 | 5 | 22 | |
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Aug 9, 1999 | Apr 2, 2000 | 34 | 135 | |
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Apr 3, 2000 | May 7, 2000 | 5 | 27 | |
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May 8, 2000 | May 14, 2000 | 1 | 136 | |
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May 15, 2000 | May 21, 2000 | 1 | 28 | |
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May 22, 2000 | Oct 14, 2001 | 73 | 209 | |
10 | ![]() |
Oct 15, 2001 | Nov 4, 2001 | 3 | 3 |
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Nov 5, 2001 | Jan 13, 2002 | 10 | 38 | |
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Jan 14, 2002 | Feb 24, 2002 | 6 | 9 | |
11 | ![]() |
Feb 25, 2002 | Mar 17, 2002 | 3 | 3 |
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Mar 18, 2002 | Apr 21, 2002 | 5 | 14 | |
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Apr 22, 2002 | May 19, 2002 | 4 | 7 | |
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May 20, 2002 | Jun 9, 2002 | 3 | 17 | |
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Jun 10, 2002 | Jul 7, 2002 | 4 | 11 | |
12 | ![]() |
Jul 8, 2002 | Aug 10, 2003 | 57 | 57 |
13 | ![]() |
Aug 11, 2003 | Oct 19, 2003 | 10 | 10 |
14 | ![]() |
Oct 20, 2003 | Oct 26, 2003 | 1 | 1 |
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Oct 27, 2003 | Nov 9, 2003 | 2 | 12 | |
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Nov 10, 2003 | Sep 12, 2004 | 44 | 45 | |
15 | ![]() |
Sep 13, 2004 | Oct 17, 2004 | 5 | 5 |
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Oct 18, 2004 | Aug 21, 2005 | 44 | 82 | |
16 | ![]() |
Aug 22, 2005 | Aug 28, 2005 | 1 | 1 |
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Aug 29, 2005 | Sep 11, 2005 | 2 | 84 | |
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Sep 12, 2005 | Oct 23, 2005 | 6 | 7 | |
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Oct 24, 2005 | Jan 29, 2006 | 14 | 98 | |
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Jan 30, 2006 | Mar 19, 2006 | 7 | 19 | |
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Mar 20, 2006 | Nov 12, 2006 | 34 | 39 | |
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Nov 13, 2006 | Jan 28, 2007 | 11 | 56 | |
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Jan 29, 2007 | Mar 18, 2007 | 7 | 14 | |
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Mar 19, 2007 | May 18, 2008 | 61 | 117 | |
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May 19, 2008 | Jun 8, 2008 | 3 | 17 | |
17 | ![]() |
Jun 9, 2008 | Aug 10, 2008 | 9 | 9 |
18 | ![]() |
Aug 11, 2008 | Aug 17, 2008 | 1 | 1 |
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Aug 18, 2008 | Sep 7, 2008 | 3 | 12 | |
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Sep 8, 2008 | Oct 5, 2008 | 4 | 61 | |
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Oct 6, 2008 | Feb 1, 2009 | 17 | 18 | |
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Feb 2, 2009 | Apr 19, 2009 | 11 | 72 | |
19 | ![]() |
Apr 20, 2009 | Oct 11, 2009 | 25 | 25 |
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Oct 12, 2009 | Oct 25, 2009 | 2 | 74 | |
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Oct 26, 2009 | Nov 1, 2009 | 1 | 26 | |
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Nov 2, 2009 | Oct 10, 2010 | 49 | 123 | |
20 | ![]() |
Oct 11, 2010 | Feb 13, 2011 | 18 | 18 |
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Feb 14, 2011 | Feb 20, 2011 | 1 | 20 | |
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Feb 21, 2011 | Jan 29, 2012 | 49 | 67 | |
21 | ![]() |
Jan 30, 2012 | Jun 10, 2012 | 19 | 19 |
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Jun 11, 2012 | Jul 8, 2012 | 4 | 21 | |
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Jul 9, 2012 | Feb 17, 2013 | 32 | 51 | |
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Feb 18, 2013 | Sep 11, 2016 | 186‡ | 309 | |
22 | ![]() |
Sep 12, 2016 | Jan 29, 2017 | 20 | 20 |
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Jan 30, 2017 | Mar 19, 2017 | 7 | 316 | |
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Mar 20, 2017 | Apr 23, 2017 | 5 | 25 | |
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Apr 24, 2017 | May 14, 2017 | 3 | 319 | |
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May 15, 2017 | Jul 16, 2017 | 9 | 34 | |
23 | ![]() |
Jul 17, 2017 | Sep 10, 2017 | 8 | 8 |
24 | ![]() |
Sep 11, 2017 | Oct 8, 2017 | 4 | 4 |
25 | ![]() |
Oct 9, 2017 | Jan 28, 2018 | 16 | 16 |
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Jan 29, 2018 | Feb 25, 2018 | 4 | 71 | |
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Feb 26, 2018 | Jan 27, 2019 | 48 | 64 | |
26 | ![]() |
Jan 28, 2019 | Jun 23, 2019 | 21 | 21 |
27 | ![]() |
Jun 24, 2019 | Aug 11, 2019 | 7 | 7 |
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Aug 12, 2019 | Sep 8, 2019 | 4 | 25 | |
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Sep 9, 2019 | Mar 22, 2020 | 28 | 35 | |
Rankings frozen |
Mar 23, 2020 | Aug 9, 2020 | 20 | ||
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Aug 10, 2020 | Apr 3, 2022 | 86 | 121 | |
28 | ![]() |
Apr 4, 2022 | Sep 10, 2023 | 75 | 75 |
29 | ![]() |
Sep 11, 2023 | Nov 5, 2023 | 8 | 8 |
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Nov 6, 2023 | Present | 11 | 86 |
- 1 2 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.[5][6]
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 | ![]() |
3 November 1975 | 9 years, 6 months | 238 |
1985–1985 | ![]() |
27 May 1985 | 0 months, 28 days | 240 |
1985–1986 | ![]() |
24 June 1985 | 9 months | 260 |
1986–1996 | ![]() |
31 March 1986 | 10 years, 1 month | 332 |
1996–Present | ![]() |
21 May 1996 | 27 years, 7 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
|
By year (continued)
|
Per player
|
|
Players who became No. 1 without having won a Grand Slam tournament title
Player | First ranked No. 1 | First Grand Slam singles final | First Grand Slam singles title |
---|---|---|---|
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August 11, 2003 | 2001 French Open (June 2001) (1st of 8) | 2005 US Open (1st of 4) |
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September 13, 2004 | 1999 Australian Open (January 1999) (1st of 3) | 2006 Australian Open (1st of 2) |
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August 11, 2008 | 2008 US Open (September 2008) (only final) | None (retired in 2017) |
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April 20, 2009 | 2008 French Open (June 2008) (1st of 3) | None (retired in 2014) |
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October 11, 2010 | 2009 US Open (September 2009) (1st of 3) | 2018 Australian Open (only title) |
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July 17, 2017 | 2016 US Open (September 2016) (1st of 2) | None (still active) |
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October 9, 2017 | 2014 French Open (June 2014) (1st of 5) | 2018 French Open (1st of 2) |
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.
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Weeks at No. 1 by country
- Current No. 1 player indicated in bold.
No. | Country | Total | Players | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Players | Weeks | |||
1 | ![]() | 8 | 1,123 | Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Tracy Austin, Monica Seles*, Lindsay Davenport, Jennifer Capriati, Venus Williams, Serena Williams |
2 | ![]() | 2 | 411 | Steffi Graf, Angelique Kerber |
3 | ![]() | 1 | 209 | Martina Hingis |
4 | ![]() ![]() ![]() | 3 | 143 | Monica Seles*, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Janković |
5 | ![]() | 2 | 137 | Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin |
6 | ![]() | 2 | 123 | Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Ashleigh Barty |
7 | ![]() | 1 | 86 | Iga Świątek |
8 | ![]() | 1 | 71 | Caroline Wozniacki |
9 | ![]() | 1 | 64 | Simona Halep |
10 | ![]() | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 51[lower-alpha 1] | Victoria Azarenka, Aryna Sabalenka[lower-alpha 1] |
11 | ![]() | 2 | 47 | Maria Sharapova, Dinara Safina |
12 | ![]() | 1 | 39 | Amélie Mauresmo |
13 | ![]() | 1 | 25 | Naomi Osaka |
14 | ![]() | 2 | 16 | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Garbiñe Muguruza |
15 | ![]() | 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
- Top ten ranked female tennis players
- Top ten ranked female tennis players (1921–1974)
- List of highest ranked tennis players per country
Notes
- 1 2 3 4 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 a neutral flag during this time and her tenure as number 1 is not attributed to Belarus in the "Weeks at No. 1 by country" table.[4]
References
- 1 2 3 "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.
- ↑ "Joint Statement by the International Governing Bodies of Tennis". wtatennis.com. March 1, 2022. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
- ↑ "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.