Women Tennis Players To Remain World No.1 For Most Weeks

Women tennis players have always had the attention of sports enthusiasts. Getting to the top of the sport is challenging for any athlete. It requires hard work, determination and consistency of top-notch quality, and women sportsperson have proved their mettle time and again. 

Attaining the topmost position in tennis, too, comes with a fair share of perseverance. However, there have been some iconic tennis players who not just notched the top spot but also held it for several weeks. 

Here are five women tennis players who held the World No. 1 spot in WTA rankings for most weeks.

1. Steffi Graf (377 weeks)

Steffi Graf created waves in the tennis world in 1983 and emerged as a dominating force in the sport for the next decade and a half.  She held the WTA World No. 1 ranking for a record 377 weeks and bagged 22 grand-slam singles titles throughout her illustrious career. 

 

The German is widely hailed as one of the greatest women tennis players of the Open Era.  Graf completed a Golden Slam in 1988 when she won all four grand slams and an Olympic gold medal in the same calendar year. Her greatest success came on the grass courts of Wimbledon, where she won three titles back-to-back and seven overall.

2. Martina Navratilova (332 weeks)

Martina Navratilova, was one of the most formidable women tennis players in the late 1970s and the ’80s. The Czech-American tennis player was atop the WTA rankings for 332 weeks. 

Navratilova held reins even in the doubles and was ranked as World No. 1 for 237 weeks. She is the only player in the history of tennis to have topped the charts for over 200 weeks in both forms of the game.

3. Serena Williams (319 weeks)

Serena Williams is considered not just the greatest women’s tennis player, but also one of the greatest athletes of all time. With 23 Grand Slam titles to her name, the Amrican is the only player to have achieved a Golden Slam in both singles and doubles. Williams held on to the World No. 1 reposition for 319 weeks, which included 186 consecutive weeks – a joint record with Steffi Graf.

4. Chris Evert (260 weeks)

Chris Evert was ranked World No. 1 for 260 weeks, as she boasts of 18 major singles titles. The American bagged seven French Open titles and six US Open titles, which she shares as a joint record with Serena Williams.

Evert dominated the women’s tennis scene for much of the 1970s and 1980s, alongside her arch- rival Martina Navratilova. She claimed the year-end World No. 1 for seven years.

Also Read: Are We Entering A New Men’s Tennis Era After The Big 3 Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer?

5. Martina Hingis (209 weeks)

Martina Hingis claimed the number one spot in both the singles and doubles for 209 and 90 weeks respectively. She simultaneously held the top position for 29 weeks in both formats.

In 1996, the Swiss player became the youngest major title winner when she bagged the Wimbledon doubles crown just weeks from turning 16. She won the 1997 Australian Open at 16 years and three months, becoming the youngest winner of the title and followed it up by becoming the youngest World No. 1 three months later in women’s singles. .