Top five youngest WTA Tour champions in Open Era

Coco Gauff tops the list of youngest WTA Tour champions.

Joining the list of WTA tour-level winners is no easy feat. Given the knockout nature of the sport which affords no second chances to any player, lifting the trophy is quite an achievement. 

The result of victory is even more remarkable when it comes to youngsters. The list of teenagers to record victories at WTA events is long. Here are some of the youngest women on the WTA Tour to have secured wins and taken home trophies since the Open Era began in 1968. 

Also Read: Top four players to complete Sunshine Double in women’s singles

Mirra Andreeva – 17 years and 90 days – 2024 lasi Open

Mirra Andreeva became one of the youngest winners on the WTA Tour when she lifted the trophy at the lasi Open in Romania in 2024. Andreeva was 17 years and three months old when she won her first WTA tournament.

However, the win was easier than expected when her opponent, fifth seed Elina Avanesyan, retired in the third set of the title round, it showed what the Russian was capable of. Andreeva was serving to stay in the match when she was down 5-7, 4-5, and a game away from losing. She held serve and won the second set 7-5 and was leading in the third 4-0 before Avanesyan called a halt to the match due to cramping.  

The new season has been more than fruitful for the Russian teenager. Not yet 18, she won the Dubai Open in late February and followed it up by winning the Indian Wells Open in March for back-to-back WTA 1000 crowns. Winning two straight WTA 1000 events made Andreeva the youngest player since Martina Hingis in 1997 to achieve the feat. 

Also Read: Players with most wins in WTA 1000 events

Tracy Austin – 16 years, 270 days – 1979 US Open

When Tracy Austin found herself in the 1979 US Open final against Chris Evert, the latter was one of the best in the business and was aiming for a fifth US Open title in a row. However, it was Austin who carried the day with a 6-4, 6-3 win to taste victory for her first-ever Grand Slam title. Evert saw her 31-match winning streak end against Austin in New York.

In 1981, Austin replicated the title run in New York, this time against another legend – Martina Navratilova. Austin posted a three-set win, 1–6, 7–6, 7–6, for her second US Open title in three years. Her US Open title run the previous year made her the youngest woman to do so, a record that stands to this day. 

Monica Seles – 16 years and 180 days – 1990 French Open

In 1990, 16-year-old Monica Seles earned the tag of youngest ever Roland Garros champion via a 7-6(6), 6-4 win over Stefanie Graf in the final. Her grunts were as legendary as her powerful strokes. At 16 years and 6 months old, Seles became the then-youngest major champion in French Open history.

At age 18, Seles became the WTA World No. 1 in March 1991, finishing as year-end No. 1 that year and again in 1992 and 1995. Her haul of Grand Slam titles included four Australian Open titles (1991-93, 96), three at the French Open (1999-1992) and the US Open twice (1991-92).

Martina Hingis – 16 years and 117 days – 1997 Australian Open 

Swiss legend Martina Hingis entered the record books as the youngest Grand Slam winner. Hingis achieved this feat by winning the Australian Open title in 1997 at the age of 16 years and 117 days. The Swiss defeated Frenchwoman Mary Pierce 6-2, 6-2 for her maiden Grand Slam win. 

Hingis reached the finals of the remaining three Slams, ending the year with two more majors in her basket. She won Wimbledon and the US Open but lost out on the trophy at Roland Garros. A year later, she became the youngest player to defend her Australian Open title against Conchita Martinez. 

Coco Gauff  – 15 years and 210 days – 2019 Linz Open

Four years before Coco Gauff won the 2023 US Open at 19, she scored a win in 2019 in Linz as a lucky loser. She was just 15 when she won her first tour-level title by defeating World Number 72 Jelena Ostapenko. Gauff defeated Liudmila Samsonova in the first round of qualifying but lost to Tamara Korpatsch in the second round. 

It was a stratospheric climb for Coco Gauff up the WTA Rankings, as she began the season at No. 685. A top 100 debut followed when she became the World No. 71 following her title run in Austria, finishing the year at No. 68.

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