WTA Rankings: The top five players over 35
There are currently just two players aged 35 or over ranked in the top 100 of the WTA Rankings, while there are 20 players in this age bracket who hold a singles ranking.
This is considerably fewer than the eight players over 35 who occupy a spot in the top 100 of the ATP Rankings.
Serena Williams became the oldest female player to reach a Grand Slam singles final at the 2019 US Open when she lost to Bianca Andreescu at 37 years and 346 days old.
The American legend also holds the record for being the oldest player to win a women’s Major, a feat she achieved at the 2017 Australian Open at the age of 35 years and 124 days.
Here, we look at the top five women’s players aged 35 or over based on their current WTA Ranking.
Kateryna Volodko
Kateryna Volodko, who changed her surname from Bondarenko in 2022, is the second oldest player on this list, having turned 37 in August. The Ukrainian, who reached a career-high position of 29th in October 2009, is currently ranked 252nd in the world.
She has won two titles on the WTA Tour: the Birmingham Classic in 2008 and the Tashkent Open in 2017. Volodko achieved her best Grand Slam result at the 2009 US Open, where she reached the quarter-finals.
Kaia Kanepi
Kaia Kanepi, who celebrated her 38th birthday in June, is the oldest player in this top five and sits 170th in the WTA Rankings. She achieved a career-high ranking of world No 15 in August 2012.
The Estonian has had a distinguished career, having won four WTA titles, and has reached the quarter-finals at all four Grand Slam events – making seven major last eight appearances overall. Kanepi is renowned for her ability to upset high-ranked players in the early rounds of Majors and has earned 19 wins over seeded players in the first week of Grand Slams.
Sara Errani
Sara Errani, who turned 36 in April, is the player in this group who achieved the highest peak and has the most impressive resume. While she is currently ranked 107th, she made it to her best spot of world No 5 in May 2013.
The Italian’s biggest achievement is reaching the final of the 2012 French Open, where she was defeated by Maria Sharapova. Errani has claimed nine WTA titles, with her biggest and most recent coming in Dubai in 2016. She was also a runner-up at the 2014 Italian Open.
Laura Siegemund
Laura Siegemund, who is the world No 84, is the youngest player on this list, having turned 35 in March this year. She reached her peak ranking of 27th in the world in August 2016.
The German has won two WTA titles – the Swedish Open and the Stuttgart Open – and was also a runner-up at the Poland Open in July this year, losing to Iga Swiatek. Siegemund made her best run at a Major at the 2020 French Open, where she reached the quarter-finals. Siegemund is also currently at her career-best doubles ranking of No 9
Tatjana Maria
Tatjana Maria, who celebrated her 36th birthday in August, is currently the highest-ranked player aged 35 or over on the WTA Tour. She sits 58th in the world, not far below the career-high WTA Ranking of 46 she achieved in November 2017.
The German has triumphed three times in tour-level tournaments, claiming titles in Mallorca in 2018 and Colombia in 2022 and 2023. Maria has advanced past the third round at a Grand Slam only once, reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 2022.