The 7 women with biggest gap between first and last week as world No 1: Serena Williams 14 years, Steffi Graf No 3
Time at the top of the rankings is fleeting for some, but a few all-time greats have been able to return to No 1 repeatedly across their iconic careers.
Here, we look at the seven women with the longest gaps between their first and last weeks as the world No 1 singles player.
7) Lindsay Davenport – 7 years, 109 days
Alongside winning three Grand Slam singles titles, Davenport spent an impressive 98 weeks as world No 1.
Davenport first rose to the top of the rankings on October 12, 1998, and the next three years saw her battle with Martina Hingis to be the world No 1.
Despite not winning a Slam after 2000, the American remained an elite force at the top of the WTA, with her eighth and final spell as No 1 finishing on August 21, 2005 – a gap of over seven years.
6) Caroline Wozniacki – 7 years, 137 days
One of the most consistent and successful players of her generation, Wozniacki’s span as the top-ranked player in the world also spanned over seven years.
The Dane rose to the top of the rankings on October 11, 2010, and, barring one week in February 2011, remained at the top until January 2012.
Six years later, Wozniacki returned to No 1 for four more weeks after her 2018 Australian Open victory, with her 71st and final week at the top concluding on February 25, 2018.
5) Kim Clijsters – 7 years, 193 days
Clijsters spent just 20 weeks as the world No 1 in her career – largely due to the hugely competitive era she was competing against – but there were over seven years between her first and last periods at the top.
The first of the Belgian’s four spells as No 1 began on August 11, 2003, where she reigned for 10 straight weeks before being replaced by Justine Henin.
Clijsters had further short spells as No 1 in 2003 and 2006 though her 20th and final week came shortly after her Australian Open triumph in 2011, reigning for a solitary week which ended on February 20th.
Facts & Stats
The 5 players to win first Grand Slam title after reaching world No 1 – ft Ivan Lendl, Kim Clijsters
4) Martina Navratilova – 9 years, 37 days
Navratilova was the most successful player of the 1980s, and her 332 weeks as the world singles No 1 are the second-most of any woman in history.
The 18-time Grand Slam champion first rose to No 1 on July 10, 1978, and spent the best part of the next decade sparring with legendary foe Chris Evert to be recognized as the best player in the world.
Her 332nd and final week as the No 1 finished on August 16, 1987, just over nine years since she first sat atop the WTA Rankings.
3) Steffi Graf – 9 years, 225 days
No woman in history can better Graf’s 377 weeks as the WTA world No 1, a record that is perhaps one of the most unbreakable in the women’s game.
Graf was just 18 when she first became the world No 1 on August 17, 1987, and she reigned for a joint record of 186 consecutive weeks until she was usurped by Monica Seles in 1991.
However, the 22-time Grand Slam champion would ultimately return to the top and her seventh and final spell ended on March 30, 1997 – over nine years since she first rose to the top spot.
2) Chris Evert – 10 years, 21 days
Evert made history on November 3, 1975, when she became the first woman to officially be ranked as the world No 1 on the WTA Tour.
That was the first of 260 weeks she spent at the top across nine different spells, with the 18-time Grand Slam singles champion often battling for the top spot with great rival Navratilova over the next decade.
Evert’s last week as the world No 1 concluded on November 24, 1985 – just over a decade since her history opening week as the world’s best player.
1) Serena Williams – 14 years, 310 days
There is no surprise to see 23-time Grand Slam winner Williams at the top of this countdown, with almost 15 years between her first and last week as the world No 1.
The American rose to world No 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002, after winning her first singles title at Wimbledon.
That was the first of eight different spells as the top-ranked player for Williams, whose 319th and final week as No 1 ended on May 14, 2017.
A gap of 14 years and 310 days puts her four years ahead of any other woman in history and is a record unlikely to be broken.
