The 6 shortest world No 1’s on the WTA Rankings: ft. Chris Evert, Ashleigh Barty
Twenty-nine women have topped the WTA Rankings since the system was first introduced in 1975, achieving perhaps the greatest feat in tennis.
Tennis has largely been dominated by taller players in both the women’s and men’s games, particularly in recent decades, though a few players have defied the odds.
Looking at official listings on the WTA Tour website, we list the seven shortest women to hold the world No 1 ranking.
7) Arantxa Sanchez Vicario – 5’6 ½ /169cm
‘Barcelona Bumblebee’ Sanchez Vicario was one of the leading players of the late 1980s and 1990s, winning three French Open titles and a US Open title in her legendary career.
Despite competing against the likes of Steffi Graf, the Spaniard still battled her way to the world No 1 ranking, spending 12 weeks at the top across three spells in 1995.
At 5’6 ½/169cm tall, Sanchez Vicario – Spain’s first No 1 in singles – is the seventh-shortest woman to top the WTA singles rankings.
=4) Evonne Goolagong – 5’6/168cm
Goolagong was not ranked as the world No 1 during her career, but was retrospectively awarded two weeks at the top in 1976, after the WTA discovered a points miscalculation over three decades later.
The tennis icon is one of the greatest players of all time and won seven Grand Slam singles titles in her career, winning four Australian Open titles, two Wimbledons, and a French Open title.
At 5’6/168cm tall, the Australian is the joint-fourth shortest woman to ever top the WTA Rankings.
=4) Simona Halep – 5’6/168cm
Competing in an era where several of her main rivals were significantly taller than her, Halep defied the odds to spend 64 weeks as the WTA world No 1.
The Romanian reigned at the top of the WTA Rankings across two separate spells, dating from October 2017 to January 2019, and was the 2018 French Open and 2019 Wimbledon champion.
Halep is the third-shortest WTA world No 1 of the 21st century, and the joint-fourth shortest of all time.
=4) Chris Evert – 5’6/168cm
Tennis legend Evert became the WTA Tour’s first-ever world No 1 in November 1975, and her overall total of 260 weeks at the top remains the fourth-most of any woman to occupy the top spot.
Evert had nine separate spells as the top-ranked player during her career, and won a staggering 18 Grand Slam singles titles, with at least two titles won at all four major tournaments.
The American, much like Halep and Goolagong, is the joint-fourth-shortest woman to ever top the WTA Rankings, a 5’6/168cm tall.
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3) Justine Henin – 5’5 ¾ /167cm
One of the most talented players of her generation, Henin was one of the sport’s most successful players during the mid-2000s – winning seven Grand Slam singles titles.
The Belgian won four French Open titles, two US Opens, and an Australian Open crown, and – across four separate spells – spent an impressive 117 weeks as the world No 1.
Henin defied the odds to become the third-shortest WTA world No 1 of all time, at 5’5 ¾ /167cm tall.
2) Ashleigh Barty – 5’5/166cm
Barty was just 25 when she retired from the sport suddenly in 2022, but the Australian left a significant legacy.
Outside of her French Open and Wimbledon titles, she won the Australian Open in her final tournament before leaving the game, and held the world No 1 ranking for 121 weeks.
Barty’s incredible success came despite the fact that she was only 5’5/166cm tall, making her the second-shortest woman to ever sit atop the WTA Rankings.
1) Tracy Austin – 5’5/165cm
Just one centimetre shorter than Barty, two-time Grand Slam champion and respected pundit Austin is officially the shortest WTA world No 1.
Despite competing against all-time greats such as Evert and Martina Navratilova, Austin still managed to win US Open titles in 1979 and 1981 in her short career, and rose to world No 1.
Austin spent 21 weeks across two separate spells as the world No 1 in 1980, and she remains the third-youngest woman to ever top the WTA Rankings.
However, at 5’5/165cm tall, her record of being the shortest world No 1 is unlikely to ever be broken.
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