The 9 women with most wins over a WTA world No 1: Martina Navratilova 18, Serena Williams 2nd

L-R: Serena Williams, Martina Navratilova, & Venus Williams.
Serena Williams, Martina Navratilova, and Venus Williams.

No woman in the WTA Rankings history has picked up more wins over a reigning world No 1 than Martina Navratilova.

The tennis icon beat the reigning world No 1 on 18 separate occasions, ranking her ahead of the likes of Serena and Venus Williams, and Steffi Graf.

In total, nine women have attained eight or more wins against a top-ranked player since the WTA Rankings were introduced in 1975.

9) Amelie Mauresmo – Eight wins

Mauresmo won two Grand Slam titles and spent 39 weeks as the world No 1 during her career, but also picked up eight wins over top-ranked players before she retired.

The Frenchwoman’s first win over a world No 1 came against Lindsay Davenport in the semi-finals of the 1999 Australian Open, which was followed by four wins over Martina Hingis.

Mauresmo also beat Serena at the 2003 Italian Open and Justine Henin at Amelia Island the following year, before defeating Kim Clijsters at the 2006 Diamond Games for her final win over a No 1.

=7) Tracy Austin – Nine wins

Just ahead of Mauresmo is two-time US Open champion Austin, whose nine wins over a WTA world No 1 came against the two leading players of her era.

Four of Austin’s wins came over Chris Evert, most notably in the final of the 1979 US Open – becoming the youngest woman to lift the title in the Open Era.

The former world No 1 also picked up five wins over Navratilova during the Czech American’s reign atop the WTA Rankings, including in the championship match of the 1980 WTA Finals.

=7) Chris Evert – Nine wins

Matching Austin on nine wins is Evert, who herself spent 260 weeks as the world No 1 during her legendary career; she was the first ever No 1 when the rankings were introduced in November 1975.

One of Evert’s wins over a No 1 came against Austin, beating her compatriot in the semi-finals of the 1980 US Open on her way to claiming the title.

The rest of her eight wins came against Navratilova, with arguably her most significant such win over her greatest rival coming in the 1985 French Open final.

6) Gabriela Sabatini – 10 wins

The only woman on this list to have never been No 1 herself, former world No 3 Sabatini picked up 10 wins over top-ranked players across her career.

While she trailed 11-29 in their head-to-head, she did pick up seven wins over Graf while the German was the world No 1 – including in the 1990 US Open final.

Sabatini also twice beat Monica Seles, while she picked up her first win over a No 1 against Navratilova at the 1987 Italian Open.

5) Steffi Graf – 11 wins

Graf spent more weeks as the world No 1 (377) than any other woman in history, though still sealed 11 victories over top-ranked players across her legendary career.

Five of the German’s wins over world No 1s came against Seles, most notably beating her chief rival in the 1992 Wimbledon, 1995 US Open, and 1996 US Open finals.

Graf also beat Navratilova three times and sealed one win each over Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Davenport, and Hingis, the latter coming in the 1999 French Open final.

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=3) Lindsay Davenport – 15 wins

Davenport was a consistent force at the very top of the game for over a decade and it should come as no surprise to see the three-time Grand Slam singles champion right towards the top of this countdown.

A staggering 11 of the American’s victories over a No 1 came against Hingis, with her biggest wins over the top-ranked Swiss coming in the finals of the 1998 US Open and 2000 Australian Open.

Davenport’s first such win came over Graf back in 1996, while she would also beat Jennifer Capriati and pick up two match wins over Mauresmo.

=3) Venus Williams – 15 wins

Matching Davenport on 15 wins is Venus, who surprisingly only spent 11 weeks atop the WTA Rankings herself across her iconic career.

Eight of her wins over a world No 1 came against Hingis, with significant wins over the Swiss in the 2000 Wimbledon quarter-finals and 2000 US Open semi-finals – both tournaments she went on to win.

She also twice beat sister Serena while the latter was world No 1 and recorded two triumphs over Davenport, with further victories over Jelena Jankovic, Dinara Safina, and Angelique Kerber.

2) Serena Williams – 17 wins

Just ahead of her older sister is Serena, whose tally of 17 wins over a WTA world No 1 ranks her second on the all-time list.

Serena notably picked up five such wins over Hingis, including in the 1999 US Open final, and also claimed five consecutive wins against world No 1 Victoria Azarenka – including the 2012 US Open final.

She also twice beat both Venus and Henin while they occupied the top spot of the WTA Rankings, with further wins over Davenport, Caroline Wozniacki, and Simona Halep.

1) Martina Navratilova – 18 wins

Navratilova spent 332 weeks as the world No 1 across her career, but that did not stop her also achieving 18 wins over top-ranked players – an all-time WTA record.

Thirteen of her 18 wins came against chief rival Evert; among those notable wins include victory in the 1978 Wimbledon final, which saw her win her first singles major – and rise to No 1 herself for the first time.

She also picked up three wins over Seles, two versus Graf, and one versus Austin.

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