The 10 women with most WTA Finals titles: Martina Navratilova with 8, Serena Williams joint second
The WTA Finals is one of the most prestigious titles in tennis, and several of the greatest players in the women’s game have tasted victory at the year-end championships.
Of the 26 women who have lifted the title since the event was first held in 1972, only 10 have managed to win the tournament on multiple occasions.
Here, we look at the legendary champions who have got their hands on the trophy more than anyone else.
=7) Justine Henin – Two titles (2006-07)
Having never previously reached the final, Henin won the WTA Finals in her final two appearances at the year-end showpiece.
The Belgian defeated long-term rival Amelie Mauresmo in straight sets in the 2006 final, before battling past Maria Sharapova in a three-set thriller the following season; she would retire just a few months later.
=7) Martina Hingis – Two titles (1998, 2000)
A four-time singles finalist at the WTA Finals, five-time Grand Slam champion Hingis claimed the title on two occasions.
The Swiss defeated fellow former world No 1 Lindsay Davenport in four sets to prevail for the first time in 1998, before beating former champion Monica Seles to triumph for the second time in 2000.
=7) Gabriela Sabatini – Two titles (1988, 1994)
A consistent force in women’s tennis across the late 1980s and early 1990s, former world No 3 Sabatini won two of the four finals she reached at the year-end championships.
The Argentine downed Pam Shriver in straight sets to win her first title in 1988, before recapturing the title six years later by beating Davenport.
=7) Evonne Goolagong – Two titles (1974, 1976)
Just the second WTA Finals champion in tournament history, Goolagong remains one of just two Australian winners – and one of only 10 women to triumph more than once.
Goolagong beat two-time defending champion Chris Evert to lift the title for the first time in 1974 and then beat her American rival again in the 1976 final.
=5) Kim Clijsters – Three titles (2002-03, 2010)
Clijsters is one of just seven women to successfully defend the WTA Finals title, and would later add a third title to her collection.
The Belgian stunned Serena Williams to triumph in 2002, before breezing past Amelie Mauresmo to hold onto her title in 2003.
Seven years later, Clijsters saw off world No 1 Caroline Wozniacki to lift the title for a third and final time.
=5) Monica Seles – Three titles (1990-92)
The dominant force of the early 1990s, tennis icon Seles is one of just three women to win the WTA Finals title three times in a row.
Seles became the youngest champion in tournament history in 1990, battling past Sabatini in a legendary five-set final to lift the title as a 16-year-old.
She then beat Martina Navratilova in both the 1991 and 1992 finals to complete a successful ‘threepeat’.
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4) Chris Evert – Four titles (1972-73, 1975, 1977)
Evert was the first woman to win the year-end championships and won four of the first seven stagings of the tournament.
The American defeated Kerry Melville to win the first WTA Finals in 1972 and made it back-to-back triumphs by defeating Nancy Richey in the 1973 final.
Evert won the title for a third time by defeating legendary rival Navratilova in 1975, before defeating Sue Barker to claim victory in 1977.
=2) Steffi Graf – Five titles (1987, 1989, 1993, 1995-96)
A true tennis icon, Graf won five WTA Finals titles across a span of nine years.
The German beat Sabatini to claim her first tournament victory in 1987, before downing Navratilova in the 1989 final two years later.
Graf then regained her title in 1993 by beating rival Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, before claiming consecutive victories with wins over Anke Huber in 1995 and Hingis in 1996.
=2) Serena Williams – Five titles (2001, 2009, 2012-14)
The Open Era leader in women’s Grand Slam singles victories, 23-time major champion Williams was also a five-time winner at the WTA Finals.
Williams was handed her first title thanks to a walkover from Davenport in 2001, before beating sister Venus to claim her second victory in 2009.
The former world No 1 then won three straight titles in her final three appearances at the event, beating Sharapova in 2012, Li Na in 2013, and Simona Halep in 2014.
=1) Martina Navratilova – Eight titles (1978-79, 1981, 1983-86)
Well out in front is former world No 1 Navratilova, whose record of eight WTA Finals victories is likely to never be broken.
She defeated Goolagong to prevail for the first time in 1978 and then beat fellow American Tracy Austin to successfully defend her crown in 1979.
Navratilova then beat Andrea Jaeger to claim the title for a third time in 1981, before a dominant run of five straight triumphs across the mid-1980s.
Having defeated chief rival Evert in the 1982 and 1983 finals, she then beat Helena Sukova in 1985 to make it three titles in a row.
That became four when she downed Hana Mandlikova in the March 1986 championships, before winning her last title by beating Graf in November of that year.
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