The 6 youngest women to hold world No 1 spot in WTA Rankings: A 16-year-old Martina Hingis at No 1
Five teenagers have topped the WTA Rankings with Martina Hingis the youngest-ever woman to be No 1 in the world.
While Hingis is the youngest, Kim Clijsters is the only one on this list to reach No 1 before she had won a Grand Slam.
The six youngest WTA Tour world No 1s:
6. Kim Clijsters – 20 years and 64 days
Just a couple of months after celebrating her 20th birthday, Kim Clijsters became the sixth youngest world No 1 (at the time) on August 11, 2003.
She hadn’t won a Grand Slam at the top, but her rise to the top came on the back of winning the 2002 WTA Finals and finishing runner-up at the 2003 French Open while she also reached the semi-final of the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
Clijsters had also won the Indian Wells Open and Italian Open in 2003 and she became the first Belgian to be ranked No 1 in the world.
5. Maria Sharapova – 18 years and 125 days
Clijsters was bumped down to sixth place by the teenage Maria Sharapova on August 22, 2005 as she became the first Russian to top the WTA Rankings.
Sharapova – who won Wimbledon in July 2004 – still had points from the 2004 WTA Finals title while she won the 2005 WTA 1000 Pan Pacific Open and reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
Her first stint at No 1 lasted one week before she was replaced by Lindsay Davenport, but she returned to the top a few weeks later and this time remained there for six weeks.
4. Steffi Graf – 18 years and 64 days
Born June 14, 1969, Steffi Graf hit No 1 for the first time on August 17, 1987.
At that stage she was already a Grand Slam winner as she won the French Open earlier in the year – before she had turned 18 – and finished runner-up at Wimbledon.
The German had also won the Virginia Slims, Miami Open, Charleston Open, Italian Open and German Open before being crowned No 1.
She remained top for an astonishing 186 consecutive weeks before she was replaced by Monica Seles in 1991 (more below), but had another six spells at No 1 as she finished with an all-time women’s record of 377 weeks at the top.
WTA Facts & Stats Features
3. Tracy Austin – 17 years and 116 days
With the WTA Rankings only introduced in 1975, the great Tracy Austin initially topped the list as she was the first 17-year-old to reach No 1.
Her feat came on April 7, 1980 when she bumped Martina Navratilova off top spot with her rise coming on the back of winning the 1979 US Open as a 16-year-old.
The American, who was in possession of 10 titles for the period between ’79 and ’80, stayed top for two weeks before returning for her second and final spell a couple of months later, this time it lasted 19 weeks.
2. Monica Seles – 17 years and 99 days
Teenage sensation Monica Seles burst onto the scene in the early 90s and by the time she topped the rankings for the first time on March 11, 1991, she was already a two-time Grand Slam winner.
She became the youngest-ever French Open champion when she won the 1990 title at Roland Garros aged 16 years and six months. The next year she won the Australian Open and a second French Open crown (although the latter came after she reached the top).
Seles also won the Miami Open, Italian Open and German Open during the period in question.
She bumped Graf off top spot and the two battled over the No 1 position for the next few years.
The Yugoslav-born American eventually finished her career having spent a total of 178 weeks at No 1, which puts her sixth on the all-time list.
1. Martina Hingis – 16 years and 182 days
The only 16-year-old in both men’s and women’s tennis to top the rankings and she spent a total of 209 weeks at No 1.
Hingis replaced Steffi Graf at No 1 on March 31, 1997 on the back of winning the Australian Open (aged just 16 years and three months) and spent 80 consecutive weeks atop the WTA Rankings.
The Swiss Miss also finished runner-up at the WTA Finals the previous year and won the Pan Pacific Open and Miami Open at the beginning of 1997.
Her first stint was ended by Davenport in 1998, but she had four more spells at No 1.
