The 5 oldest WTA 1000 tournament champions: Martina Navratilova 36 years, Serena Williams No 3

Pictured: Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams, and Petra Kvitova
Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams, and Petra Kvitova are among the oldest WTA 1000 winners.

Winning a WTA 1000 title is one of the trickiest tasks in tennis, though a few players have been able to crack the code well into the latter stages of their careers.

We look at the five oldest women to win a WTA 1000 title since the format was revamped in 1990.

5) Flavia Pennetta, 2014 Indian Wells – 32 years, 19 days

Pennetta is the oldest first-time Grand Slam winner in WTA history and is also the fifth-oldest WTA 1000 champion thanks to her surprise run at Indian Wells a decade ago.

The Italian had not long celebrated her 32nd birthday when she arrived in the desert as the 20th seed, beating the likes of 16th seed Sam Stosur and 17th seed Sloane Stephens to reach the last four.

Pennetta proceeded to pick up one of the biggest wins of her career, defeating top seed Li Na to reach the final – where she thrashed second seed Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 6-1 to lift the title.

It was her first and only WTA 1000 title and was the biggest success of her singles career outside of her US Open victory.

4) Petra Kvitova, 2023 Miami Open – 33 years, 25 days

One of the most successful players in WTA 1000 history, Kvitova has won nine such titles – but no one expected her to win the Miami Open last season.

The Czech had never made it past the quarter-final of the event previously, though she battled past 18th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the last eight before downing surprise semi-finalist Sorana Cirstea.

The 15th seed was a significant underdog against recent Indian Wells champion Elena Rybakina in the final, though she defeated the Kazakh 7-6(14), 6-2 to capture the title.

It was her first WTA 1000 title in almost five years, and she is the fourth-oldest woman to win such an event.

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3) Serena Williams, 2016 Italian Open – 34 years, 232 days

It comes as no surprise to see all-time great Serena on this list, with the 23rd and final WTA 1000 title of her career coming at the Italian Open in 2016.

Ranked world No 1 heading into Rome, the American already had three titles at the tournament under her belt and faced little trouble in adding a fourth – not dropping a set on her way to the title.

Serena dropped just two games against ninth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarter-finals and then beat Irina-Camelia Begu to reach the final, where she downed compatriot Madison Keys 7-6(5), 6-3.

That was the penultimate WTA 1000 final of her career, with the 23-time major champion forced to retire injured in her last such final at the 2019 Canadian Open.

2) Venus Williams, 2015 Wuhan Open – 35 years, 108 days

Just pipping Serena into second place is her older sister Venus, who won her final WTA 1000 trophy at the Wuhan Open nine years ago.

Former world No 1 Venus was unseeded heading into the tournament and, having not won a title at that level since 2010, was not considered among the leading contenders for the title.

However, she beat the likes of 10th seed Radwanska and seventh seed Carla Suarez Navarro to reach the last four, where she edged past 15th seed Roberta Vinci to make a 15th WTA 1000 final.

Venus was leading 6-3, 3-0 when Garbine Muguruza was forced to retire with injury, becoming the second-oldest champion ever at that level of competition.

1) Martina Navratilova, 1993 Pan Pacific Open – 36 years, 112 days

Out in front in No 1 position is Navratilova, who was 36 years old when she won her final WTA 100o-level title at the Pan Pacific Open in 1993.

The 18-time Grand Slam champion was the third seed in the draw and dropped just one set on her way to the semi-final, where she faced long-time nemesis Steffi Graf.

Navratilova had not had much joy against the top seed in their recent clashes but rallied from a set down to stun the German and set up a final against surprise finalist Larisa Neiland.

The American breezed to a 6-2, 6-2 triumph to seal her 162nd WTA Tour singles title, and 31 years on she is still the oldest woman to taste WTA 1000 glory.

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