The 5 women with most consecutive weeks as WTA world No 1: Serena Williams, Steffi Graf with 186
Twenty-nine women have been ranked as the singles world No 1 since the WTA Rankings launched in 1975 – and some have demonstrated huge staying power at the top.
Five women have managed to stay as the world No 1 for over 100 weeks consecutively – we take a look at all of the greats who are part of that exclusive club.
5) Chris Evert – 113 weeks (May 1976 to July 1978)
Evert holds a unique place in history as the first-ever WTA world No 1 in singles, and she also holds the fifth-longest streak of all time.
After being dislodged by Evonne Goolagong for two weeks – weeks that were awarded to the Australian retrospectively over three decades later – the American icon returned to No 1 on May 10, 1976.
Evert then reigned supreme for 113 weeks before being dislodged by chief rival Martina Navratilova, who rose to the top of the WTA Rankings for the first time on July 10, 1978.
Eighteen-time major winner Evert spent 260 weeks as the world No 1 total, placing her fourth on the all-time list.
4) Ashleigh Barty – 114 weeks (September 2019 to April 2022)
After a period of repeated chopping and changing at the top, Barty looked at home sitting atop the WTA Rankings across her short, yet successful, career.
Initially becoming No 1 in June 2019, Barty returned to the top spot for a second time on September 9, 2019, and did not relinquish her ranking until April 4, 2022 – by which time she had retired.
The WTA Rankings were frozen for 20 weeks during that period due to COVID-19, and this does not contribute to her overall weeks at No 1.
However, she was still world No 1 for 114 consecutive weeks, placing her fourth in terms of the longest run at the top.
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3) Martina Navratilova – 156 weeks (June 1982 to June 1985)
A true tennis great, Navratilova spent 332 weeks as the WTA world No 1 across her career – a total only bettered by one woman.
Her most dominant period at the top came across the early to mid-1980s when she reigned for 156 consecutive weeks.
Having already spent 84 weeks as the world No 1, Navratilova again dislodged Evert from the top on June 14, 1982 and did not lose her ranking until June 9, 1985 – when she was again replaced by her rival.
Navratilova spent another 92 weeks as No 1 across the remainder of her career, though her best run of 156 weeks placed her third all-time in terms of consecutive weeks.
=1) Serena Williams – 186 weeks (February 2013 to September 2016)
No woman in the Open Era has won more Grand Slam singles titles than Williams, and it comes as no surprise to see the 23-time major singles champion front and centre of this list.
The American had several strong periods across her career though was never more dominant than she was in the mid-2010s when she spent 186 straight weeks as the world No 1.
Williams already had 123 weeks to her name when she returned to the top for a sixth time on February 18, 2013, and she reigned until September 11, 2016 – three and a half years.
That places her joint-first for most consecutive weeks, and her overall haul of 319 weeks puts her third all-time.
=1) Steffi Graf – 186 weeks (August 1987 to March 1991)
No woman has come close to matching Graf’s haul of 377 weeks as the WTA world No 1, and unsurprisingly the German is at the top of this list.
Matching fellow icon Williams, the 22-time Grand Slam singles champion’s best spell atop the WTA Rankings saw her reign for 186 consecutive weeks.
Graf became world No 1 for the first time on August 17, 1987, and was not toppled until March 11, 1991, when she was replaced by key rival Monica Seles.
She was No 1 for seven different spells across her career and her next-best streak of 94 weeks is the sixth-longest ever.
