The 7 women to successfully defend WTA Finals title – ft Serena Williams, Steffi Graf
Winning the WTA Finals is one of the toughest tasks in tennis – but some players have made it look like a walk in the park.
Since the event launched in history, seven women have impressively been able to lift the title, and then successfully defend their crown twelve months later.
We look at the all-time greats to achieve that special feat, as Iga Swiatek looks to make it eight in 2024.
Chris Evert: 1972-73
Former world No 1 Evert was the first WTA Finals champion, and also the first woman to successfully defend the title.
The American triumphed at the inaugural event in 1972, defeating Australian Kerry Melville in straight sets to lift the title.
Twelve months later, Evert – still a teenager at the time – won the title for a second straight year by beating compatriot Nancy Richey.
She would win further titles in 1975 and 1977.
Martina Navratilova: 1978-79, 1983-86
No woman in history can match Navratilova’s haul of eight WTA Finals singles titles, and the tennis icon defended the title on multiple occasions.
She beat Evonne Goolagong to lift her first title in 1978 and then saw off Tracy Austin the following year to make it back-to-back triumphs.
After a further triumph in 1981, Navratilova then won a staggering five consecutive year-end championships.
The American defeated Evert in the 1983 and 1984 finals, before beating Helena Sukova, Hana Mandlikova, and Steffi Graf in 1985, 1986 (March), and 1986 (November) respectively.
Monica Seles: 1990-92
The dominant force of the early 1990s, Seles won three WTA Finals across her career – and all three came consecutively.
Seles defeated Gabriela Sabatini in five sets to win the tournament for the first time in 1990, becoming the youngest champion in event history – a record she still holds to this day.
The former world No 1 then beat Navratilova in back-to-back finals in 1991 and 1992 to complete an impressive ‘threepeat’.
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Steffi Graf: 1995-96
Already a three-time champion at the tournament, Graf won consecutive titles in 1995 and 1996 to bring her haul of triumphs up to five.
In a topsy-turvy five-set contest, the 22-time Grand Slam champion fended off compatriot Anke Huber to lift the title for a fourth time in 1995.
Twelve months later she prevailed at the year-end championships for the last time, defeating future champion Martina Hingis in a five-set final.
Kim Clijsters: 2002-03
The WTA Finals was one of the most successful events of Clijsters’ impressive career, winning the tournament three times – including consecutive victories in the early 2000s.
Still a teenager, the Belgian stunned Serena Williams in straight sets to triumph in 2002, before thrashing Amelie Mauresmo in the 2003 final.
Clijsters would go on to win the title for a third time in 2010.
Justine Henin: 2006-07
Matching the feat of compatriot and rival Clijsters, tennis great Henin sealed back-to-back WTA Finals victories in her final two appearances at the year-end championships.
Having never previously made the final, the former world No 1 lifted the title for the first time in 2006, defeating key rival Mauresmo in straight sets.
The following she battled past Maria Sharapova in a legendary final to successfully defend her title, and the Belgian retired from the sport just a few months later.
Serena Williams: 2012-14
Having previously won the title in 2001 and 2009, all-time great Williams became just the second woman – after Navratilova and Seles – to win three straight year-end championship titles.
The American capped off a dominant second half of 2012 by beating Sharapova in straight sets to capture her third title, before rallying from a set down to beat Li Na in the 2013 final.
And she made it three in a row in 2014, downing Simona Halep for her fifth and last tournament victory.
