The 13 women to reach world No 1 but never lift US Open title – ft. Ashleigh Barty, Evonne Goolagong
The US Open is one of the most coveted prizes in tennis – and plenty of the greatest female players in history have been crowned in New York.
Legends such as Serena and Venus Williams, Steffi Graf, and Chris Evert have all lifted multiple titles in New York, but a few big names have missed out on the title.
Here, we look at the 13 women who reached world No 1 – but never won the US Open.
Ashleigh Barty
In Barty’s short but incredibly sweet career, the US Open was the only Slam singles title the Australian did not win.
The Australian won her first major at the French Open in 2019, before winning Wimbledon in 2021 and her home Slam in Melbourne in 2022, alongside an impressive 121 weeks as world No 1.
However, she never made it as far as the last eight at Flushing Meadows, with fourth round showings in 2018 and 2019 her best efforts in New York.
Caroline Wozniacki
The US Open is probably the tournament most would associate Wozniacki with, with the Dane picking up many of her most memorable match wins in New York.
Wozniacki has never quite been able to get her hands on the title though, losing the 2009 final to Kim Clijsters and the 2014 final to Serena Williams.
She did, however, spend 71 weeks as world No 1, and ultimately won a major title at the Australian Open.
Simona Halep
One of the most accomplished players in recent years, with 64 weeks at the top of the WTA Rankings, the US Open is technically Halep’s weakest major on paper.
The Romanian memorably won the French Open in 2018 and Wimbledon in 2019, alongside finishing as runner-up to Wozniacki at the 2018 Australian Open.
But she never made the final in New York, reaching a sole semi-final in 2015.
Victoria Azarenka
Azarenka spent 51 weeks as the world No 1 and won pretty much every other big hard court title going across her career, but has never been able to quite get over the line in New York.
The Belarusian is best remembered for her Australian Open titles in 2012 and 2013 and went on to reach the final in New York in both those years – losing to Williams in both finals.
Seven years later she returned to the final for the third time but fell to Naomi Osaka in 2020.
Amelie Mauresmo
The only French player – male or female – to be ranked No 1 in singles in the Open Era, Mauresmo was one of the most accomplished players of the 2000s.
Her career peaked in 2006 with victories at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, alongside 39 weeks at the top of the rankings.
Mauresmo never reached the final in New York but twice reached the last four, doing so in 2002 and 2006.
Dinara Safina
One of three women to reach the world No 1 ranking without ever winning a Slam singles title, Safina’s best results came at Roland Garros and the Australian Open.
The Russian reached back-to-back Paris finals in 2008 and 2009, and also reached the final Down Under in 2009.
Safina, who spent 26 weeks as the world No 1, reached the US Open semi-final in 2008 – her best result at the event.
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Jelena Jankovic
Jankovic is another player who reigned as the world No 1 though never triumphed at a major, though the closest she came was at Flushing Meadows.
The Serbian reached her only Grand Slam singles final at the US Open in 2008, losing to Williams in the final, and would ultimately be the year-end No 1 that season.
Jankovic spent 18 weeks at the top of the rankings and won 15 career titles.
Jennifer Capriati
Capriati is arguably the best US female player to never win at her home major.
The American was twice a champion at the Australian Open, winning in 2001 and 2002, and was also the 2001 French Open champion.
She also reigned as the world No 1 for 17 weeks but never made the final in New York, losing in the last four in 1991, 2001, 2003, and 2004.
Ana Ivanovic
Much like Halep and Barty, the US Open was arguably the weakest major of Ivanovic’s career.
Ivanovic was the top-ranked player for 12 weeks and won the French Open in 2008, alongside reaching the Australian Open final that year, and a Wimbledon semi-final in 2007.
However, the Serbian reached just one quarter-final in New York, progressing to that stage in 2012.
Karolina Pliskova
The third of the three women to reach No 1 without winning a Grand Slam, Pliskova’s best chance of major success came in New York eight years ago.
In her first major final, the Czech was beaten in three sets by Angelique Kerber at the 2016 US Open, and she would later lose a Wimbledon final as well.
To date, Pliskova has spent eight weeks as the world No 1 and has won 17 WTA singles titles.
Aryna Sabalenka
Sabalenka looks well-placed to remove her name from this list this fortnight after cruising into the third round of the US Open this week.
The Belarusian has won back-to-back Australian Open titles and was close to winning the US Open a year ago, beaten in the final by Coco Gauff.
She spent eight weeks as the world No 1 after her Flushing Meadows run a year ago, and has won 15 career singles titles.
Garbine Muguruza
The recently retired Muguruza is another former world No 1 who struggled more at the US Open than anywhere else.
The Spaniard, who spent four weeks as world No 1, was a French Open and Wimbledon champion in her career, alongside being an Australian Open finalist.
However, she only twice reached the second week of the US Open, doing so in 2017 and 2021.
Evonne Goolagong
Extraordinarily, Goolagong never won the title in New York during her extraordinary career.
The Australian won seven major singles titles across the other three Grand Slam tournaments and was retroactively awarded two weeks as world No 1.
But Goolagong lost four straight finals in New York across the 1970s and was never quite able to get her hands on the title.
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