The 7 lowest-ranked WTA 1000 champions: Where would Victoria Mboko or Naomi Osaka rank?

Oli Dickson Jefford 07 Aug 2025 12:03 PM

Pictured: Naomi Osaka and Victoria Mboko.

A thrilling WTA 1000 final has been set at the Canadian Open, with Victoria Mboko set to take on Naomi Osaka in Montreal.

Home favourite Mboko stunned former Grand Slam winner Elena Rybakina to reach her first tour-level final, while Osaka reached her first WTA 1000 final in three years after beating Clara Tauson.

It is only the fourth time since the WTA 1000 format was officially revamped in 2009 that an all-unseeded final has occurred at a WTA 1000 event.

And, Mboko and Osaka can both join an exclusive club by winning the title, sitting among the lowest-ranked champions since that change 16 years ago.

7) Naomi Osaka – No 44, 2018 Indian Wells

Former world No 1 Osaka is already among the lowest-ranked WTA 1000 winners since 2009, thanks to her Indian Wells triumph back in 2018.

Osaka had never won a WTA title before the tournament, though the world No 44 stunned fifth seed Karolina Pliskova and top seed Simona Halep to reach the final.

The Japanese dispatched 20th seed Daria Kasatkina 6-3, 6-2 to lift the title, and would win her first major title at the US Open later that summer.

6) Belinda Bencic – No 45, 2019 Dubai Tennis Championships

Bencic was unseeded for both her WTA 1000 triumphs, though down at 45th in the world when she won the Dubai Tennis Championships back in 2019.

The Swiss battled past third seed Halep and sixth seed Svitolina to reach the final, where she fought past second seed Petra Kvitova 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 to prevail.

Bencic was 20th in the world when she lifted the 2015 Canadian Open title, and remains the tournament’s youngest champion of the 21st century.

5) Danielle Collins – No 53, 2024 Miami Open

US star Collins was a memorable champion at her home tournament in Miami in 2024, becoming the lowest-ranked woman to ever win the title.

The American knocked out for seeds on her way to the final, including 14th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the last four, to book a championship match versus Rybakina.

Collins was a significant underdog against the Kazakh, though went on to make history with her 7-5, 6-3 triumph in the final.

4) Victoria Azarenka – No 59, 2020 Cincinnati Open

The winner of 10 WTA 1000 titles, former world No 1 Azarenka was down at 59th in the world when she triumphed at the Cincinnati Open five years ago.

Held in New York due to COVID protocols ahead of the US Open, Azarenka beat Ons Jabeur in the quarter-final before a rallying three-set win against eighth seed Johanna Konta powered her into the final.

The Belarusian was set to face fourth seed Osaka in the final, though she lifted the title automatically after the Japanese star withdrew due to injury.

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3) Bianca Andreescu – No 60, 2019 Indian Wells

The only Canadian woman to win a Grand Slam title, Andreescu is also a two-time WTA 1000 champion, with her first title coming at Indian Wells in 2019.

Ranked 60th, a teenage Andreescu defeated 20th seed Garbine Muguruza and sixth seed Svitolina to reach the final, where she stunned Angelique Kerber 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to triumph.

It was the first of three big titles in 2019 for the Canadian, who went on to lift the Canadian Open and US Open that summer.

2) Camila Giorgi – No 71, 2021 Canadian Open

One of the most surprising WTA 1000 champions ever, the mercurial Giorgi stunned the tennis world with victory at the Canadian Open in 2021.

The Italian was ranked 71st in the world, though she beat three seeded players on her way to the final, including seventh seed Kvitova in round four and 15th seed Coco Gauff in the last eight.

Giorgi was a significant underdog against former world No 1 Karolina Pliskova in the final, though she shocked the fourth seed 6-3, 7-5 to win the biggest title of her career.

1) Serena Williams – No 80, 2011 Canadian Open

Williams was on the comeback trail when she stormed to the 2011 Canadian Open title, with the American ranked 80th at the time.

The tennis great battled her way past Lucie Safarova in three sets in the quarter-final, before a comprehensive win over fourth seed Azarenka in their semi-final clash.

Williams then breezed past 10th seed Sam Stosur 6-4, 6-2 to lift the second of her three Canadian Open crowns and remains (for now) the lowest-ranked WTA 1000 champion.