The 6 players with most WTA Finals appearances: Martina Navratilova with 21, Steffi Graf joint-second
Few titles are as prestigious as the WTA Finals.
It is the event where the cream of the WTA crop comes together, the best players in the world doing battle to try and lift one of the most significant trophies in tennis.
For many players, qualifying once would be a dream – but some players have been able to return time and time again.
Here, we look at the six women with the most appearances in WTA Finals history.
For context, the tournament was a straight knockout, 16-player field until 2003, and there were two editions of the event held in 1986.
These statistics also only factor in appearances at the Finals, not times where players withdrew despite sealing qualification.
=5) Zina Garrison – 12 appearances
With 14 WTA titles, a further 22 finals, and a career-high of world No 4 to her name, Garrison may well be one of the greatest players to never lift a Slam singles title.
However, the American’s impressive career still speaks for itself, as does her impressive haul of 12 WTA Finals appearances.
Garrison made her tournament debut as a 19-year-old in 1983 and then qualified for every year-end championship until 1993 – including both recognised editions of the event held in 1986.
During her playing career, the tournament was a straight knockout event, with her best result being quarter-final showings in 1985 and 1989.
=5) Conchita Martinez – 12 appearances
A former Wimbledon champion and world No 2, Spanish star Martinez was one of the most consistent players of her generation.
And she matches Garrison with 12 appearances at the WTA Finals across her career, with all her appearances also coming consecutively.
Martinez made her tournament debut in 1989 and qualified for every year across the 1990s, with her last showing coming in 2000.
She was a seven-time quarter-finalist at the year-end championships, though never progressed any further.
=2) Arantxa Sanchez Vicario – 13 appearances
Sanchez Vicario is best remembered for reaching world No 1 and winning four Grand Slam titles across a hugely successful career, spanning the late 1980s to the early 2000s.
And the ‘Barcelona Bumblebee’ was a regular at the WTA Finals across her career, making 13 appearances at the event.
She made her tournament debut in 1989 and then played every year for the next 12 years, with her final campaign coming in 2001.
Her best result was a runner-up appearance in 1993, making her the player with the unfortunate record for most appearances without ever lifting the title.
WTA Tour News
WTA Finals 2024 draw: Iga Swiatek & Coco Gauff in same group, Aryna Sabalenka with Elena Rybakina
WTA Finals Power Rankings: Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff top 3
=2) Steffi Graf – 13 appearances
One of the greatest players in WTA history, Graf won a staggering 22 Grand Slam singles titles and spent 377 weeks as the world No 1.
And unsurprisingly that translates into an impressive number of WTA Finals campaigns, with the German playing the tournament 13 times.
Graf made her debut at the first 1986 championships that March and then played every year until 1998; she also qualified in 1999 but retired before the tournament.
She won the tournament in 1987, 1989, 1993, 1995, and 1996, also losing the November 1986 final.
=2) Chris Evert – 13 appearances
Matching Graf and Sanchez Vicario on 13 appearances is Evert, the first world No 1 in WTA history – and also the first-ever WTA Finals champion.
The US icon won the opening edition of the event in 1972 and qualified for the first six year-end championships, before reaching a seventh in 1979.
After a four-year gap, she returned to the Finals in 1983 and then qualified for all bar one championships over the next five seasons, missing the November 1986 finals.
Champion in 1973, 1975, and 1977, alongside her first triumph, Evert made her final appearance in 1988 – retiring the following year.
1) Martina Navratilova – 21 appearances
Well out in front is former world No 1 and 18-time Grand Slam singles champion Navratilova, who made a staggering 21 WTA Finals appearances across her legendary career.
The tennis icon did not play the event in 1990, qualifying but withdrawing pre-tournament, but that was the only year-end championship she missed across a 20-year spell.
Navratilova made her tournament debut as an 18-year-old in 1974 and then made her 21st and final appearance in 1994, the year she officially retired from the sport for the first time.
Her eight titles remain a tournament record unlikely to be broken any time soon, winning back-to-back titles in 1978 and 1979, reclaiming her title in 1981, before winning five straight titles from 1983-1986.
She also holds the record for the most tournament finals reached, with a further six runner-up finishes.
