Full list of players who have finished year-end WTA World No. 1
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Jelena Jankovic became the first Serbian to finish as year-end WTA World No. 1 in 2008.
The WTA rankings are the Women’s Tennis Association’s (WTA) merit-based system for determining the rankings in 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.
Chris Evert was the first player to have been ranked as year-end WTA world No #1. She finished the 1975, 1976 and 1977 years as the season’s top ranked player. Evert also ended the 1980 and 1981 season on top of the rankings.
The first 11 years of the WTA tour saw the American players dominate the top spot in the rankings. It was not until 1987 when Germany’s Steffi Graf ended the season on top. There have been multiple players around the globe since then who have ended the year as the world’s best on the WTA tour.
Also Read: WTA Finals: Full list of title winners
List of players who have finished as year-end WTA World No. 1
Year | Player |
1975 | Chris Evert (USA) |
1976 | Chris Evert (USA) |
1977 | Chris Evert (USA) |
1978 | Martina Navratilova (USA) |
1979 | Martina Navratilova (USA) |
1980 | Chris Evert (USA) |
1981 | Chris Evert (USA) |
1982 | Martina Navratilova (USA) |
1983 | Martina Navratilova (USA) |
1984 | Martina Navratilova (USA) |
1985 | Martina Navratilova (USA) |
1986 | Martina Navratilova (USA) |
1987 | Steffi Graf (Germany) |
1988 | Steffi Graf (Germany) |
1989 | Steffi Graf (Germany) |
1990 | Steffi Graf (Germany) |
1991 | Monica Seles (Yugoslavia) |
1992 | Monica Seles (Yugoslavia) |
1993 | Steffi Graf (Germany) |
1994 | Steffi Graf (Germany) |
1995 | Steffi Graf (Germany) |
1996 | Steffi Graf (Germany) |
1997 | Martina Hingis (Switzerland) |
1998 | Lindsay Davenport (USA) |
1999 | Martina Hingis (Switzerland) |
2000 | Martina Hingis (Switzerland) |
2001 | Lindsay Davenport (USA) |
2002 | Serena Williams (USA) |
2003 | Justine Henin (Belgium) |
2004 | Lindsay Davenport (USA) |
2005 | Lindsay Davenport (USA) |
2006 | Justine Henin (Belgium) |
2007 | Justine Henin (Belgium) |
2008 | Jelena Janković (Serbia) |
2009 | Serena Williams (USA) |
2010 | Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) |
2011 | Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) |
2012 | Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) |
2013 | Serena Williams (USA) |
2014 | Serena Williams (USA) |
2015 | Serena Williams (USA) |
2016 | Angelique Kerber (Germany) |
2017 | Simona Halep (Romania) |
2018 | Simona Halep (Romania) |
2019 | Ashleigh Barty (Aus) |
2020 | Ashleigh Barty (Aus) |
2021 | Ashleigh Barty (Aus) |
2022 | Iga Swiatek (Poland) |
2023 | Iga Swiatek (Poland) |
2024 | Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) |
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