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 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.
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]
First-time No. 1 player.
‡ WTA rankings record.
Current World No. 1 (weeks are automatically updated).
^ a bMonica 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]
^ a bOn 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.[4]
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.
^"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.