Top 10: WTA players with most matches played: How far ahead is Martina Navratilova?
We have done the men’s list so it is only right that we follow it up with the women’s top 10 of WTA players with the most professional matches. It’s no secret that the great Martina Navratilova tops the list, but how many current active players feature?
10. Stephanie Foretz – 1025 matches
Our first entrant is a bit of a bizarre one as despite playing more than 1 000 matches, Frenchwoman Foretz failed to win a single WTA Tour title.
Foretz, whose pro career started in 1997, only reached a career high of 67 in the rankings and earned $1,881,212 in career prize money while her best performance at a Grand Slam was a third-round exit at the US Open in 2002.
Of her 1025, she won 570 and lost 455.
9. Conchita Martinez – 1036 matches
The 1994 Wimbledon winner was active on the Tour from 1988 until 2006 and finished her career with 33 singles titles and career-high ranking of No 2.
The Spaniard, who also finished runner-up in the Australian Open and French Open, won 739 (71.3%) of her 1036 matches.
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8. Samantha Stosur – 1048 matches
The Australian is one of only two players on the list who are still active and the 35-year-old has vowed to play until at least the 2021 Australian Open.
Stosur’s biggest singles feat was her 2011 US Open win while she also reached the final at Roland Garros in 2010.
She has nine WTA singles titles to her name and her win-loss record is 57.7% (605–443). If all goes according to plan, she could be in the top five by the time she retires.
7. Arantxa Sanchez Vicario – 1055
The former world No 1, who turned pro in 1985 before hanging up her racket in 2002, was at the peak of her powers during the late 80s and throughout the 90s as she won three French Open titles and one US Open trophy.
However, she can count herself unlucky as she also finished runner-up in eight Grand Slam finals (five of them to Steffi Graf).
Sanchez Vicario finished her career with a 759–295 (72.0%) win-loss record and $16,942,640 in career prize money.
6. Venus Williams – 1060 matches
The second active player in the top 10 and although she is in the twilight of her career, Williams may well move inside the top five in the next few months.
The 39-year-old’s seven Grand Slams titles (five Wimbledon and two US Opens) puts in her in the top eight for most majors won.
Williams has won 76.4% (811–251) of the 1060 matches she has played while her $41,805,656 career prize money puts her second behind sister Serena in the all-time list.
5. Francesca Schiavone – 1093
The Italian was active on the WTA Tour for two decades before she retired in 2018, winning eight singles titles and finishing with a win-loss record of 614–479 (56.2%).
Her crowning moment came in 2010 when she won the French Open while she also finished runner-up to Li Na at Roland Garros the following year.
4. Patty Schnyder – 1099 matches
Besides Foretz, Schnyder is the only other player in the top 10 who hasn’t won a Grand Slam with her best performance in a major coming at the 2004 Australian Open when she reached the semi-final.
However, she did win 11 WTA Tour singles titles and reached a career high of four in the rankings.
3. Virginia Wade – 1168 matches
The Brit was active from 1962 until 1985 and won three Grand Slams (1986 US Open, 1972 Australian Open, 1977 Wimbledon) during that period.
She won 55 singles titles, reached a career high of No 2 and ended up with a win-loss record of 839–329.
2. Chris Evert – 1448 matches
The dominant women’s player in the 70s and 80s, Evert won 18 Grand Slam titles between 1974 and 1986.
The American icon, who spent a total of 260 weeks at the top of the rankings, won 154 titles and, incredibly, lost only 144 of her 1448 matches for a winning percentage of 89.99%.
1. Martina Navratilova – 1661 matches
You can never say never, but it is unlikely that Navratilova’s record will be broken in our lifetime.
The tennis great turned professional in 1975 and only hung up her racket in 2006. During that time she won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, spent a total of 331 weeks at the top of the rankings and won 167 titles (an Open Era record).
She finished her career with a win-loss record of 1,442–219 (86.8%).
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