The 9 women with most year-end world No 1 finishes: Steffi Graf with 8, Serena Williams joint third
Holding the year-end No 1 ranking is one of the biggest achievements in tennis, with only 16 women able to achieve that feat since the rankings were introduced in 1975.
We look at the nine WTA greats who managed to finish the most seasons as the year-end world No 1.
=6) Ashleigh Barty – Three seasons (2019-21)
The first of four women with three seasons as the year-end No 1, three-time major champion Barty achieved that feat across three consecutive seasons.
Barty was year-end No 1 for the first time in 2019, in part due to her maiden major triumph at the French Open that summer.
The Australian then held onto her No 1 ranking across 2020, in part due to COVID rules in place, though her 2021 Wimbledon triumph cemented her spot as the year-end No 1 in her final full season on tour.
=6) Justine Henin – Three seasons (2003, 2006-07)
One of the most decorated players of the 21st century, seven-time major champion Henin was the year-end No 1 on three separate occasions.
The Belgian first achieved the year-end milestone in 2003, following a season that saw her win her first Grand Slam titles at the French Open and US Open.
Henin then finished 2006 atop the rankings after reaching all four major finals that year, before two Slam victories saw her seal the year-end No 1 position for the final time in 2007.
=6) Martina Hingis – Three seasons (1997, 1999-2000)
Five-time Grand Slam singles champion Hingis spent 209 weeks as the world No 1, and held the year-end No 1 ranking three times.
The first of those came in 1997, following a season that saw her dominate and win three Grand Slam singles titles.
Hingis then returned to year-end No 1 in 1999, and sealed consecutive No 1 finishes in 2000.
=6) Monica Seles – Three seasons (1991-92, 1995)
One of the greatest players of the 1990s, Seles achieved the year-end No 1 ranking across three seasons.
Seles rose to the No 1 ranking for the first time in 1991 and finished that season atop the rankings, and held onto to No 1 across the entirety of 1992.
She was reinstated as the No 1 player following her comeback in 1995, allowing her to finish that season as the year-end No 1 alongside Steffi Graf.
5) Lindsay Davenport – Four seasons (1998, 2001, 2004-05)
Only four women have attained more year-end No 1 finishes than Davenport, who spent 98 weeks as the world No 1 across her career.
Davenport first rose to the No 1 ranking in 1998 and finished that year as the world’s best player, before returning to the year-end No 1 position in 2001.
Despite not adding to her three major titles, hugely consistent seasons across 2004 and 2005 helped her seal consecutive finishes as the year-end No 1.
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=3) Serena Williams – Five seasons (2002, 2009, 2013-15)
No woman has had a longer gap between her first and last year-end No 1 finishes than Williams, with her haul of five spread across a span of 13 years.
Williams was year-end No 1 for the first time in 2002, amid her first ‘Serena Slam’, and then returned to that position seven years later in 2009.
The American dominated the early to mid 2010s and proceeded to finish as the year-end No 1 for three straight years, from 2013 to 2015.
=3) Chris Evert – Five seasons (1975-77, 1980-81)
Evert was the first WTA world No 1 when the rankings were introduced in 1975 and held onto that spot to become the first year-end No 1.
That started an impressive run for the 18-time Grand Slam singles champion, who also reached that milestone in 1976 and 1977.
After being usurped by key rival Martina Navratilova, Evert returned to seal back-to-back year-end No 1 finishes in 1980 and 1981.
2) Martina Navratilova – Seven seasons (1978-79, 1982-1986)
A dominant figure in the women’s game across the late 1970s and 1980s, Navratilova was the world No 1 across seven different seasons.
Navratilova rose to world No 1 for the first time in 1978 – the year she won her first Wimbledon title – and finished that season and 1979 atop the WTA Rankings.
She returned to the year-end No 1 position in 1982 and then achieved the milestone for five consecutive seasons – a record run as the year-end No 1.
1) Steffi Graf – Eight seasons (1987-90, 1993-96)
Out in front is 22-time Grand Slam champion Graf, whose record of 377 weeks as the WTA world No 1 is matched by a record of eight year-end No 1 finishes.
The German first rose to world No 1 in the summer of 1987 and was not usurped from the top spot until 1991, meaning she held the year-end position every season from 1987 to 1990.
Graf returned to the top of the rankings in 1993 and, despite some tussles at the top, managed to seal the year-end No 1 spot across 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1996.
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